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^■^ THE VARIOl'S 1>KE4RTMESTSY~- 

UTBRiVTlTlK.SriKXCE. * THE ARTS. 

■^DT,.xni. 

MAKINIiR'S TONGA ISLANDS VOL.1. 




1837. 



1 



AN 

ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVES 

OF THB 

TONGA ISLANDS, 

IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. 

WITH All 

ORIGINAL GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY 
OF THEIR LANGUAGE. 

COMPILED AND ARRANGED FROM THK XXTXySITE 
COMMUNICATIONS 
OF 

MR WILLIAM MARINER, 

SEVERAL TEARS RESIDENT IN THOSE ISLANDS. 

BY JOHN MARTIN, M. D. 

-« 

IN TWO VOLUMES. 
VOL. L 

THIRD EDmON, CONSQDVUBLT IMPROTSD. 



EDINBURGH : 
PRINTED FOR CONSTABLB Al^t> C.^» 

AND 

HURST, CHANCE AND CO. LO^liO^- 



1827. 



V*^'^'* CONTENTS OF VOL. I. 



PAGE 

Prepack xi 

iKTjfcODUcniON xvi 

CHAPTER I. 

The Port au Prince sails from Grayesend — ^Arrives in 
the River of Plate — Touches at the Falkland IsU 
ands — Doubles Cape Horn — Falls in with the Earl 
St Vincent, South whaler — ^Attempts to cut two 
whalers (that had been taken by the Spaniards) out 
of the Bay of Conception — Accident to Thomas 
Turner— Arrives in Coquimbo Roads— Desertion 
of eleven men — Captures three Spanish brigs— At- 
tacks the town of Arica — Captures the town of 
Hilo, and bums it to the ground— Loss of the Be- 
gonio brig by iire — Captures a small Spanish brig 
— Picks up a boat with six hands on board, belong- 
ing to the Minerva, South whaler, whose crew had 
mutinied — Falls in with the Lucy privateer — In 
company with the Lucy, engages the Spanish fri- 
gate Astraea — Makes Chatham Island, and parts 
company with the Lucy— Arrives on the whaling 
ground — Makes the Isle of Plate — Captures three 
Spanish vessels— Anchors in Tacaraes Roads^Sails 
and anchors in Tola Roads — Friendly reception 
from the governor of Tola— Anecdote of the gover- 
nor's daughter 35 

CHAPTER IL 

Tlic ship departs from Tola — Anchore m CXaAkkksv 
Bay^'Captures a Spanish brig— C«U^w» ^«w?c 
whales, making up the number o£ ^ft»wv — ^Co^^*- 
brig out Of St Bias— Question coacemVD^ ^to* V«>" 



VI CONTENTS. 

FASE 

priety of looking after certain richly laden vessels — 
Remarks — Arrives at Ceros Island— Illness of Cap- 
tain Duck— Information respecting a Spanish sloop 
of war, laden with tribute money — Deatli of Cap- 
tain Duck — The conmiand of the vessel falls to 
Mr Brown — Funeral of Captain Duck — Ship sails 
from Ceros — Takes a fresh departure from Guada- 
loupe — ^Arrives at tl)e Island of Owyhee — Sails 
again, and arrives in Anahooroo Bay, at Woahoo — 
The chief refuses permission to enter the close har- 
bour—Sails for Otaheite— Gets too much to the 
'westward, and makes for -the Tonga Islands — An- 
chors for the last time at the Island of Lefooga — 
Mutiny and desertion of four men — Farther deser- 
tion of fiflcen others— Suspicious appearance of the 
natives— TTieir first plan to take the vessel unsuc- 
cessful—Natives assemble on deck in great num- 
bers — Signal of attack — Mr Mariner runs into the 
gun-room, and, meeting with the cooper, they de- 
termine to blow up the vessels — Their intention ac- 
cidentally presented — In the mean time general 
massacre upon deck — Mr Mariner and the cooper 
brought before the chief — Mr Mariner is sent on 
shore- The state of his mind at this period — Finds 
Mr Brown on the beach murdered — He expects to 
be killed and eaten— Is brought before the king — 
The ship is run aground by theking*s orders • . 50 

CHAPTER III. 

The ship plundered by Finow's orders — Accidents 
on board — The ship burned— Guns hauled on shore 
— Visit to the Island of Whiha — Surprise of the na- 
tives at the siglit of a watch — Mr Mariner deprived 
of his books and papers, as being considered instru- 
ments of witchcraft — Anecdote of the missionaries 
— Remarks on the present state of the Islands, com- 
pared with tliat when Captain Cook visited them — 
Political histoi-y of tlie islands during the foregoing 
tti-elve or £/ieea years, viz. Ji^pedition to the Fiji 

Jfi/aads — Insurrection at Tonga— -Assaa^unUoti o? 

'^ -^/V/y — Civil vFAT— -Return of the cxiw.Vu\on vo 



CONTENTS. VI : 

YAtil 

tbi' Fiji Islands, \vhich joins the insurgents— Fiiiow 
concjuers tnv Ha])ai Ihlands— His cruelt}' towards 
his prisoners— Annual invasion of -die Island ni' 
1'on|rb^Mr Mariner and his companions receiv<> 
orders to joixi an er.iMHiition aprainst the luiaTid o^' 
Tonjra. and to employ the srun.-^ — Anecdote of an 
insane ii^'oman— I*"iii.'>w"s fleet sails foj* Namooca^ 
Tiie-fieet arrives ofi" a consecrated place at 'J'onjiB 
— Deiicriptioii of a censnoDy raQed TiKM;i-^-i'Tepa- 
ratiuns lur battle — PeiLiiirtimi of ^ttt rortifi c ati on 
ol' Nioocalofa G7 

CHAPTEK IV. 

lJi.-«emtK^-Latiun ai' the forces— Siege of Nioocuioik— 
Destructioii oi' the fortress— Cvuehy of the con- 
c}uero:.— Description of tlie effect of the artillerj- 
— I-:::iiarLi:tIoii i'or Paiiguimotut*— Ceremony of 
ii-viiLiii^ L ffroti—Iiisjiinitioii of'a pries; — lieturnti* 
Ttmga — Tn'. funres- -ehiiih — Cunnibalisin — Gar- 
risHii o'.' l'j':i: eiiter- into alliance with Finow — I'i- 
licv.- eiubarivs a^air. for Panpiiniotod, leaving tlie 
i .:ri:-L'.-- li- llit- care of the chief of Be»— Treachery 
(if till- -hi of — Ketum of the float to the Hapai 
jslaT!::*«— Antonibhment oT Finow at tlie mode of 
communicating sentiment!, by ^-ritinj:;, with tii€- cir- 
riimstunce that jr^svi rise t; it — A Tonga chief and 
hi- fanij'; /tin Ki:!<iv.— Arrival at LiL'i'ooga— Cere- 
jiKir'" o' i'iifcaiaIii-^Cereir;ony of marriage be- 
rweei: "Ojiiungu and Finow 'b daughter ... !>(> 

CK.'-PTEi: V. 

J'olitl-.-a' iiiirigues of Titolw Toa egainat looiiu Nuba 
— 'i'oi'bf Toa's vov.— FinowV cL:iractei contrasted 
V itn tha: «if Tooiio 2Vuha— Suntinieiits of 1'uuIki 
Tojv— Assas-siaation of Tociu: Nuha— 5!ii«ecli of 
I-atoc- llu over the dead body — SpeciouK conduct 
«:' J-'iiiow — Tm body laid in siate— Diamul Iotwmw- 
i;.:;ini. o; Tuobo Nuijab -wcmjen — Siw»l yLCvv^xiwX o^ 
i;j#' r:r'iri- of tltf lui;(X>— •Burie.\ oV 1 iKA>\> "SvlXw. — 
tAisioti ij;:iii^'itrr(_- (if Ciiiuolpoit*— Clu^sVdkCKn oV '*vv^ 
•.:tttf fi:\-ji, to J''inttvi '». nuni^Iler iiuA'A^ to\««v\.>w«* 

— ^Vit /km;*:- .-iKt cii i)J' her tklHVJCT to \Xi^: ^*Wk**s^ **^ 



CONTENTS. 

V'avaoo— Tue Oonioo (Flno\^-'s aunt) builds a large 
and strong fortress at Vavaoo — Finow'a detormina- 
tion to proceed immediately against it, notwith- 
standing the dissuasion of his priests— Sketch of 
his religious sentiments-^Bravado of a Vavaoo war- 
rior— If inow*s son arrives from the Navigator's 
Islands — His ceremony of marriage— A review— 
An instance of mercy and discrimination — ^Arrival 
of a canoe from Vavaoo— Finow embarks with 4000 
men for Haaoo— By the advice of the gods he pro- 
ceeds to Vavaoo with three canoes to ofier peace — 
Is met by Toe Tongata, who addresses him — Fi- 
now makes a speech to the Vavaoo pei^Ie— Their 
rejection of his offers — Beautiful appearance of the 
great garrison of Vavaoo — Return of the expedi- 
tion to Hapai 12 

CHAPTER VI. 

Finow embarks again with all his army for Vavaoo, and 
arrives at Neafoo— Alarm in the night — Presence 
of mind in one of Finow*s men— Plan of attack—- 
Siege commences — An armistice — Accident to Mr 
Mariner, which causes the battle to be renewed— 
Audacity of a Vavaoo warrior — Finow forbids the 
guns to be used— -Sortie of the enemy — Braverj' of 
Chioolooa — Wonderftil eso^ of Latoo Ila— Con- 
duct of the Hapai women— Finow's army returns 
to Neafoo^ and builds a fortress there — Alarm in 
the night — Revolt of a young chief to the enemy, 
and the consequence^^SIaughter of the enemy by 
an ambuscade — Sixty bodies offered to the gods — 
Cannibalism— -Supposed treachery of Lioofau — 
Umi king returns thanks to his tutelar god — Hint* 
of his priest— Apprehension and punishment o 
Mappa Haano— Regulations respecting deserters- 
Cruelties exercised upon four of the enemy— Dc 
serdon of Tooboo Boogoo from the enemy — Or 
of Finow's canoes surprised by an attack from Ma' 
capepa at the Island of Taoonga— Finow sends o 
Mi expedition against Macc.ipapa's canoes, a: 
A«^«, ten—A ttmck on tiic enemy's, iicld of yam 
f^^ Mariner wounded — An attempt lo iiccuTe 
"'c vnemy'B hog% 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER VII. 

TAOE 

Desertion of one of Finow*g wives, and the wife of 
tlie Prince^Rencontre between one of the fugithres 
and Mr Mariner— Atteni|»t to take the enemy's wik 
tnon while gathering shell-fish — I^spute alx>iit the 
i^male prisoners — Return of the Hi4>ai canoes with 
ymnriaons — PalaTaU*s attack upon a party of the 
enemy, and Idiling a man within a sacred fencing 
— Strangling a child as an atonement for this sa- 
crilege — Death of PalaTali—- Flnow, growing tired 
of the war, in an artfni manner negociates a peace — 
Finow's apology lor the conduct of the Vavaoo peo- 
ple at an entertainment given tbem^-Entertainment 
given by the Vavaoo chiefW to Finow and his chiefs 
—Sentiments respecting praise, bravery, &c.— New 
regulations of Finow — Toobo Toa deputed tribu- 
tary governor of the Hapai Idiands — His arrival at 
the Hapai Islands, accompanied by the Prince and 
Mr Mariner 185 

V 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Arrival of Filim6eatoo at Foa — Description of the 
sport. called Fanna Kalai — Treaty of Filim6eatoo 
with the chief of Hihifo, respecting the bird Kalai, 
for Finow — Desertion of several chiefs and warriors 
to Tonga— Island of Tofooa, and restrictions re- 
specting cutting down the Toa tree ( Casuarina) — 
Volcano on this island — Certain principles among 
the Fiji Islanders alluded to — Grave of John Nor- 
ton, of Captain Bligh's boat, with some account of 
him-=- Remarks upon 'the subject— Some account .of 
a ship arriving at the Island of Tonga from Bo£any 
Bay — Account given of Botany Bay by a Tonga 
chief and his wife, who had returned thence — 
Finow*s ideas respecting the value and circulation 
of money — General slaughter of the dogs at Va- 
vaoo, on account of their destroying the game— 
Their flesh cooked and eaten by several chiefs— 
Finow's first esviy at the sport of Fanna l^^\iv W\^ 
the bird from Tonga '^^ 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER IX. 

PAG 

Island of Hoonga— Curious cavern there, and how 
first discovered — ^Anecdote of the person nvho fii-st 
discovered the cavern — Description of the sport of 
shooting rats — Popular tale of the origin of the 
Tonga Islands — Finow's return to Vavaoo — Ge- 
neraiyVmoy and seizure of several chiefs— Stratagem 
used to secure Cacahoo — Several of the prisoners 
taken out to sea to be sunk ; their conversation on 
the way— Conduct of Cacahoo whilst sinking- 
Conduct of the widows of the deceased, particular- 
ly of the widow of Now Fahoo — Description of the 
plantation of Mahe Boogoo — Popular tale of what 
happened at this plantation in former times — Tonga 
song— Abundance of a peculiar fish found here— 
This plantation given up by Mahe Boo -zoo, and 
conferred on Mr Mariner by Finow — Mr Mariner's 
providential escape fronr a shark— A dead sperma- 
ceti whale found off one of the Islands — Their me- 
thod of makinpr ornaments with its teeth — Anec- 
dote exemplifying the high estimation in which 
whale's teeth are held— Still preater value of them 
at the Fiji I;)lands — Arrival of Cow Mooala from 
tlie Fiji Islands 21 



CHAPTER X. 

Cow Mooala^s narrative— His early residence at the 
Fiji Islands-— Is drifted to Fotoona on his return to 
Tonga — Particular customs of Fotoona — ^Arrives 
at Lotooma on his return to Fiji — Character of the 
People— Popular tale of two Giants — ^Arrives at 
Navibi Levoo, one of the Fiji Islands — Character 
of the People — Their Cannibalism — Observations 
—Sails for the Island of Pau, the most important 
of the Fiji Islands : its traflic — Account of an Eu- 
ropean vessel wrecked there — Anecdote of a gigan- 
tlc IJzard (prohahly a crocodile), wliich did much 
jni'scbiefat a neighhouring Isle : Strataj;em usedvo 
dvstroy it — Funhvr Dccomxt of Pau — Dc«cn\>Uou 
^^>'' several Customs of the Fiji Islands — Dcscn\»- 



COVTENTS. XI 

rAOB 

tion of the Island of ChJchia, ami its strong For- 
tress : some account of its War with Pau— -IKsscrip- 
tion of a Cannibal Feast — Feast giyen by Finow 
on Cow Mooala's return to Tonga 2j6 

CHAPTER XI. 

Arrival of a canoe from the Island of Tonga, bring- 
ing a chief and two young matabooles, with a peti- 
tion from Toobo MaloAii : they giye an account of 
the late transactions there, viz. Teoo Cava, chief of 
Hihifo, being joined by the chiefs and men that for- 
merly belong^ to Nioocalofa, makes an attack 
on the fortress of No6koo-No6koo, and takes it : 
the enemy return in the night, and set fire to it— 
Teoo Cava, making his escape, is stopped and kiU 
led by a Fiji islander— Conduct of Ata in the de- 
fence of Hihifo, and the bravery of Maccapapa^— 
Grief of Teoo Cava's widows for his loss — Refe- 
rence to an anecdote in the missionary voyage re- 
specting Eliza Mosey (note) — Petition of Toobo 
Maldhi and his chiefs to Finow : their reception by 
him, and ceremony of pardon— Toobo Malohi*s con- 
versation with Finow, and his ultimate departure 
for the Hapai Islands 278 

CHAPTER XII. 

Finow's younger daughter falls sick — Petitions to the 
gods^ Farther account of the mode of invocation— 
Finow's illness— Debate among the gods respect- 
ing Finow — This debate causes thunder and light- 
ning — Suppose effect of Finow's illness and re- 
covery on his daughter — His daughter conveyed to 
the Island of Ofoo— Her death — Ceremony of her 
burial — Strange custom of the people of Hamoa— 
Finow's illness — Petitions to the god»— Strangu- 
lation of a child in the way of sacrifice— Finow's 
death— Political state of the Tonga Island^ occ^ 
sioned by this event — Grief of finow^s daw^Vxrc 
— Mr Mariner rebuked by the Prince fox Ya^ ^«^ 
at Fiaow's death — iSuspicious conduct oi Vooa^n — 
Consultation of the god Toobo Toty* — ^B*ipatt o^ 
what had been Finow's intentiom pwrnowk^^* 



XU CONTENTS. 

PACK 

death— The prince consults with his uncle on mat- 
ters iit polHieal gOTemmeiit relative to his succes- 
sion 266> 

CHAPTER XIIL 

Ceremony of FinQW*s burial— Grief of his widows- 
Self inJSictions of the moumers-^Funeral proces- 
sion to Felletoa— The policy of the Prince— De- 
scription of the graye, and ceremony of interment 
— Ceremonies aner burial— Respect paid by per- 
sons in passing tfie gra;T»— Tlw prmee's intimation 
to Voona that he should exile himself— The prace 
receives authority as How at a cava party— Hia no- 
ble speech on this occasion^— Farther exhortations 
to his chiefs and matabooles respecting tl«e cuhiiou 
tion of the country— Half moumkig commences-— 
The ceremony of the twentieth day after burial— 
The dance called M^ too Buggi— Heroic beha- 
viour of two boys at the gnwe-— The late How's 
fishermen exhibit proofs of their affectien for the 
deceased — Moral and political character of the late 
How — His personal character— A brief comparison 
between the characters of the late and present 
How 310 



PREFACE 



TOTHZ 



SECOND EDITION. 



The flattering reception with which the 
present work has already been honoured by 
n liberal public, and the appearance of a 
French translation of it at Paris, in No- 
vember last, are convincing proofs of the 
interest, at least, which the subject has ex- 
cited. Whilst preparing this second edi- 
tion, it has been my good fortune to meet 
witli ail additional weight of testimony in 
favour of the facts related ; and not to de- 
tain the reader with unnecessaty matter, I 
shall at once lay open the source of this 
new proof of the strict fidelity of Mr Mari- 
ner's representations. Jeremiah Higgins, a 
young man belonging to the crew of the 
Port au Prince, * made his escape from the 

* He served on board this vessel in t\\e ca^^^t^ ^'l 
what is technically termed a. landsnuin, axid^*a&^ibiicii«3oo>^N. 
/^/leen or s/xteen yean of age. 

VOL. I, j^ 



xii PREFACE. 

Tonga Islands about thirteen months be- 
fore Mr Mariner, that is to say, after a resi- 
dence there of two years and eleven months. 
Being very young, he was one of the first 
who acquired a tolerable knowledge of the 
language. He practised their dances, and 
learned their songs ; — and although he had 
not the advantage of those better opportu- 
nities which fell in Mr Mariner's way, and 
consequently is not so intimately acquaint- 
ed, in certam points of view, with the poli- 
tical sentiments, and moral notions and ha- 
bits especially of the higher classes of the 
natives, which the superior education of the 
latter, as well as his relative condition among 
the Tonga chiefs, rendered him more apt 
to acquire ; — still, the information obtained 
from Higgins must undoubtedly be consi- 
dered valuable, if only regarded as gene- 
rally corroborative, and in a few insta,nces 
somewhat cowective, of Mr Mariner's state- 
ments. 

For three or four years (until December 
last) Jeremiah resided with his father, an 
old inhabitant of the town of Aylesbury, a 
man well known, and much respected, and 
in the employ of many farmers in the coun- 
ty as a hay-binder. Some time after the 
publication of the first edition of the pre- 
sent work, a copy was sent to Jeremiah, 
with a request that he would particularly 
remark and make a memorandum of what- 
^ver he conceived not to be correcVX'j ^V^Vftiil. 



PREFACE. Xiii 



In the month of November last, Mr Hig- 
gins, the father, happening to be m town 
upon some business, called to inform me, 
that his son had been exceedingly pleased 
with the perusal of the work, particularly 
as it served to corroborate many things 
which he had previously related to his 
friends and neimibours, and to which he 
had reason to Uiink they did not always 
give the credit that was due; insomuco, 
that he began to be heartily tired of an- 
swering their numerous inquiries. Among 
those to whom he had given the most in- 
formation prior to the publication of the 
work, was Mr T. Woodman, a very re- 
spectable and intelligent farmer, residing at 
Stone, near Aylesbury. As this gentleman 
had also read the book, I wrote to him to 
request the favour of his sentiments, with 
regard to the two unconnected sources of 
information, which had fallen in his way. 
From the answer which he obligingly sent 
me, dated Stone, 4th December 1817, I beg 
leave to extract the following paragraph, as 
bearing immediately upon the subject. 

** I most- certainly have many times, be- 
fore your publication appeared in the world, 
asked Jeremiah Higgins many questions 
respecting the inhabitants of the Tonga Isl- 
ands ; but as he is a young man ot a re.- 
served disposition^ the comm\xiv\c»X2tfso& \Nfc 
made were always desultOT^/, -vmcowafc^Xft^ 
and confined. Yet I cannot \x«v^ \)aft\«^' 



XIV PREFACE. 

doubt, or the least hesitation in saying, that 
in the accounts he gave, he spoke of the 
very same people, and of the very same in- 
cidents, which are related by Mr Mariner, 
in the work you have recently published. 
He spoke to me of the capture of the vessel 
he sailed in ; of the siege and reduction of 
the Tonga great fortress ; of the effects of 
the great guns; of the panic and conster- 
nation thenoe product ; of their religious 
and political convocations, &c &c, which 
are events so exactly detailed and portray- 
ed in the work you have given, that I find 
not the least difference between the one and 
the other, save that the accoimts given by 
Mr Mariner are more amplified, and better 
arranged, in bearing reference to the reli- 

Sious and political proceedings relating to 
leir society. " 
That no source of information or of sa- 
tisfactory proof might be left untried, I 
engaged Jeremiah Higgins to come up to 
town; and now it was, for the first time, 
that he and Mr Mariner met, since tlieir 
separation at the Tonga Islands. He re- 
mained with me till the latter end of De- 
cember, and I had abundant reason to be 
satisfied with the accordance between his 
several statements, extracted from him by 
various questions, and those which I had 
formerly received from Mr Mariner. When 
thejr spoke the Tonga language toge^xSciex, 
I noticed the similarity of uiek ^pioiiXJ^cis^ 



PREFACE. XV 

tion and accent. When Higgins sang and 
exhibited some Tonga dances in presence 
of several of my friends, whilst Mr Ma^ 
riner also sang and beat time according to 
the native method, * we were struck with 
the accuracy of the description of these 
amusements in the " Voyages of Captain 
Cook. " 

But to be brief, however satisfied I 
have hitherto been with Mr Mariner's 
details, I issue this second edition with 
a twofold confidence; for now I can as- 
sure the candid reader, that, endeavour- 
ing to divest my mind of all prejudices, I 
have carefully and assiduously questioned 
Jeremiah Higgins, at various times, with 
regard to the events at the Tonga Islands 
while he was there, and the manners and 
customs of the people, and have always 
found his answers so consonant and agree- 

* To give greater eflfect to the scene, Mr Mariner was 
dressed as represented in the frontispiece, and Higgins*s 
only apparel was a sort of circular apron, made of loose 
strips of matting very thickly set, and at the top plaited 
so as to form a band round the lower waist, from which 
the strips hung down nearly to the knees. This was to 
represent the apron of the leaves of the chi tree, used by 
the natives on such occasions. He had also a wreath of 
artificial flowers round the head, • and another round the 
neck. He is beautifully tattowed from the hips nearly to 
the knees, agreeably to the custom of the Tonga people. 
Upon them it appears of a black colour, but upon a white 
man it causes the skin to resemble soft blue %a)ixTk« *\^3t&. 
neatness^ and, J might almost say, the ma\hem»iiaK»!L '^^^i* 
ciskm with which the pattern is executed, £aT wn^^asMik^^ 
expecuaion of aU who see it for the ftr»t ^siie« 

a2 



XVI PREFACE. 

able, as far as they went, with Mr Mari- 
ner's accounts, that I feel quite certain of 
the truth of the great outlines of the matter 
contained in the following sheets, and the 
highest degree of confidence in all the de- 
tans. 

Such is the additional testimony which 
the present work has obtained ; ana I flat- 
ter myself, that I have used all the means 
within my reach to render it, if possible^ 
worthy of the honour which public appro- 
bation has already bestowed upon it. 



J. MARTIN. 



27, Basinghall-Street, 
4tth March 1818. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The cluster of Xslauds whose inLabitants consti- 
tute the subject of the present work, is that to 
which Captain Cook gave the epithet ** Friendly. " 
His chart of the Friendly * Islands, however, does 
not include Vavaoo, which he did not visit ; and 
as this island is the largest, and now compara- 
tively the most important of all those belonging 
to the same archipelago, which, in his time, were 
under the same government, and still speak pre- 
cisely the same language, and follow the same 
customs, we have thought it expedient to denote 
tliem all by one common name, which the natives 
themselves give them, viz. *' Tonga," or, the 
Tonga Islands, f 

* He gave them this name on account of tlie apparent 
amicable disposition cf the natives towards him ; but, in 
reality, their intention was to massacre him and his 
friends, and take the two ships, as they did afterwards 
the Port au Prince. Sec VoL II. 

f These isUnds, therefore, connst of the islacvd o^ 

Toni;a, which gives name to the wVioW, t\\c e\\]ffiXKt c»J\^ 

the Uapai islands, and the island of VaN«kOO% ^R^ ^^^ 
Jkfap. 



Xviii INTRODUCTION. 



A complete account of all the different tribes in- 
habiting the islands of the Pacific Ocean would no 
doubt fonn a most interesting portion of human 
history, and supply, in a great measure, that of 
the earlier ages of mankind, so much obscured as 
it is by romance and fiabulous traditions. The in- 
fancy of human society in our times probably dif- 
fers not much, except in local drcumstances, from 
that which existed four thousand years ago ;— by 
a scrupulous and attentive examination of the pre- 
senty therefore, we may be able to form some to- 
lerable judgment of the past. And this is not, I 
apprehend, a matter of idle curiosity or of useless 
knowledge, as some have the presumption to cry 
out ;— for all that regards man, whether it be good 
or evil, is highly interesting to man ; — the good, 
that we may either adopt or improve ; — ^the evil, 
that we may either avoid or remedy :— *and as the 
history of the human individual cannot be perfectly 
understood, without examining him in his infancy, 
-—so a true knowledge of the species in a state of 
society, is not to be thoroughly and easily acquir- 
ed, without a suitable investigation into the ind- 
pient stages of the social compact. There it is 
that the passions of man are more openly and 
strongly developed, — his imaginations and preju- 
dices less concealed by artificial coverings,-r-aad' 
his actions, generally speaking, under much lew 



INTRODUCTION. XIZ 

restraint. Moreover, as the edacation of children 
ought, in one point of view, to be chiefly founded 
upon a knowledge of their notions and habits, so 
ought all attempts at civilization (which is only 
another kind of education) to be built upon our 
acquaintance with the customs and modes of think- 
ing of the people on whom we wish to superinduce 
new trains of habits and sentiments, — so that we 
may educate or lead them out of bad into better,— 
from imperfection towards perfection. It is in 
morals much the same as in physics ; if we would 
alter the qualities of a substance, we must first ex- 
amine what those qualities are, that we may see in 
what way they are best capable of being changed. 
It is true, by hard labour with the hammer, we 
may bend a piece of cold iron ; but observation and 
experience teach us, that at a high temperature 
this metal becomes so soft, we can fashion it as we 
please. 

Impressed with these considerations, I had long 
thought it a great desideratum to obtain, if possi- 
ble, an intimate and domestic history of an uncivi- 
lized people. I mean such a history as would in- 
troduce the reader not only to a familiar acquain- 
tance with their form of government, their reli- 
gion, their traditions, — but with the genius of theic 
language, their intellectual and inon\ OdaxakX^x^ 
fiieir ordiaary discooTBes, aentVigcieiitai «sA\iad^^^ 



XX INTRODUCTIOK. 

In the year 1811, my wishes in this particuiiu' 
were amply gratified, by an accidental acquuntanctt 
with Mr William Mariner, who had recently ai^w 
riyed from the East Indies, and was the hearer o£ari 
a letter to one of my connections in London** 
Hearing that he had been a resident among the a 
natives of the Tonga Islands, daring a space (£^ 
four years, my cariosity was much excited. I^ 
sought his confidence^ and soon found tliat thii^j 
knowledge he was able to communicate respecting^ 
this uncivilized, but interesting portion of the hu<«i 
man race, was equal to my expectationB, and pro^^ 
mised even to realize all my hopes ; for, in fii/*-t^ 
having been thrown upon those islands at an earl^ 
age, his young and flexible mind had so accorded j 
itself with the habits and circumstances of the na-^ 
tives, that he manifested no disposition to over- ^ 
rate or embellish what to him was neither strange 
nor new. His answers to my inquiriea rogardin^ 
the religion, government, and habits of the pM-> - 
pie * with whom he had been so intimately asao-^ 
ciated, were given with that kind of unaaaoming 
confidence, which bespeaks a thorough knowledge 
of the subject, and carried with it the conviction or ' 
truth. 

** All previous accounts by circumnavigaton legsrdin^ 
tliese islanders bad been imperfect, by reason of the rfiuiK-** 
Jtes of their stay; of these, however. Captain Cbok's ii.j 
tite man accurate^ The TnimaOTMtf^'ff^ ifA|pt\iiEV% ^ktAA^ ^ 



INTRODUCTION. ' XUU 

was iilgo the Commandor, and served in this capa- 
city under Lord Comwallis, in the former Ameri- 
can War ; but having sustained some severe losses, 
be returned to England, married, and resided in 
London. He had several children, the second of 
whom was William, the subject of the present 
memoir, who was bom at Highbury Place, Isling- 
ton, September 10th, 179 L At an early age, 
his father sent him to Mx Mitchels Academy, at 
Ware, in Hertfordshire, where, with the exception 
of the vacations, he remained five or six years, and 
returned home at the age of thirteen, in conse- 
quence of the death of Mr Mitchel. Daring the 
latter period of his stay at school, I can furnish 
some account of his habits and disposition, upon 
the authority of my friend Mr Wliiston Briatow, * 
now of Hitchin, Hertfordshire. At this early age. 
Mariner discovered a mind disposed to activity, 
fond of information, and very susceptible of ex- 
ternal impressions. From his habits and senti- 
ments, he seemed fitted for a life of change 

^ Tliis gentleman accidentally called one evening at my 
house, when Mr Mariner was amusing the author of 
** The Farmer's Boy " with some anecdotes of his travels. 
Mr Bristow had scarcely taken his scat, when Mr Mari- 
ner recognised in him an old school-fellow, and one of his 
most intimate associates. This happened in the early part 
of my acquaintance with him, and gave me great pleasure 
in affording me a knowledge of Mr Mariner's former ha- 
bits and disposition, from an intimate friend who had 
known him well. 

VOL. I, » 



xxbr INTRODUenOK. 

and adventuce. He was greatly attadied to 
books of trayels, and used often to say, how 
nradi he should like to live am(mg savages^ and 
meet with strange oecnrrenoes,— a disposition 
not uncommon in some young minds, but which 
' those who are fond of presentiment will readi- 
ly account fmr in their own way. His sports and 
amusements were frequently those of an active, 
adventurous, and sometimes of a daring kind. 
The advantages he had acquired from Mr Mitchers 
instructions were not inconsiderable, in respect of 
his age. Besides the common acquisitions of read^ 
ing, writing, and arithmetic, he had made much 
progress in the knowledge of history, geography, 
and the Latin and French languages. The latter 
hcf could read with great fluency, and converse in 
it upon common topics, with tolerable correctness. 
As his father intended him for the sea, and being 
of opinion that his education was already sufficient 
for this line of life, he resolved to keep him at 
home till something suitable and advantageous 
should offer. William, however, was not much 
inclined to a maritime life ; and as his mother was 
wholly averse to it, his father was at length dis- 
suaded from his intention, and placed him in the 
office of his friend Mr Harrison, a respectable so- 
licitor, late of Burr Street, Aldgate, with whom 
he was to remain a few months, previously to ar- 



INTRODUOTlOK« 

tides being signed* Six weeks had scarcely eliqis- 
ed» iiovirevery before an event occnrred, nnimpoit- 
ant enoDgii in itself, bnt which served to make a 
complete change in his fntore prospects. 

Ciqptain Duck, who had forma*ly served his i^- 
prenticeship to William's father, was abont to sail 
in the Port an Prince, private ship of war, * be* 
longing to Mr Robert Bent f of London. This 
vessel had a twofold commission. If not success* 
fbl in her cmise for prizes within certain latitudes, 
die was to dooUe Ci^ Hcmh, and proceed into 
the Pacific Ocean in search of whales. Just be^ 
fore his departure. Captain Duck came to take 
leave of William's &ther. After dinner, the con* 
versati<m naturally turned upon ihe ensuing voy* 
age, when Captain Duck, who was a man of very 
sanguine expectations, spoke with gnat confidence 
of speedy success and an early return, and gave 
such flattering descriptions of his mode of life, that 
William's natural disposition was soon roused, and 
he was smitten with the strongest desire to ac- 
company him. Ciqptain Duck immediately offer- 
ed him every encouragement as his clerk ; and the 

* Of nearly 500 tons, 98 men, and mounting 9ft lon^ 
nine and twelve pounders, besides* 8 twelve pound carro- 
nades on the quarter-deck. Sbe formerly belonged to the 
French government, was called Le General Dumouxiax^ 
and was t%ken off Fort su Prince by •ii'EA^A^^^a^ ^1 



/ New of West Kouhey, near Banve^oa Ccroxl. 



XXvi INTRODUCTIOW. 

eonsent of his father being obtained, in a few days 
he took him on board, under his immediate pro- 
tection. 

The melancholy fate of the Port an Prince, and 
the consequent train of interesting events whicii 
occurred to young Mariner until his arrival agun 
in England, seven years afterwards, will be fully 
detailed in the following pages. These events 
seem to have made a Considerable change in his 
personal character -and external habits. I have 
heard it observed by those of his friends who knew 
him formerly, that, on the first renewal of acquaint- 
ance, they could scarcely recognise him to be the 
same individual. His love of adventure has chang- 
ed into a sedateness of character, and a disposi- 
tion to rest and quiet, arising from disappoint- 
ments and unexpected dangers at too early a pe- 
riod of life. He is rather taciturn than loquacious, 
and, as has already been observed, more inclined 
to speak of the events of his life as common oc- 
currences, than as interesting anecdotes. Whe% 
however, he is animated into social converse, he 
furnishes descriptions that are very interesting and 
^atural. 

On his return from the West Indies, after a lapse 
of a few months, he brought to me memoranda 
of the principal events which had happened at the 
Tonga Islands during his residence there, together 



INTRODUCTION. XXVli 



with a description of the most important refigious 
ceremonies, and a vocabulary of about four or five 
hundred Tonga vrords. These materials excited 
in me a still deeper interest ; for, though inadequate 
to the end in view, they convinced me of Mr Ma- 
riner's ability to furnish tenfold more ; they were 
mere sketches and outlines, but they constituted the 
bearings of a most interesting and instructive his- 
tory of uncivilized life, unlike any thing I had yet 
seen, and superior even to any hopes I had enter- 
tained. 

After mutual deliberation on the best means of 
doing justice to the subject, that nothing import- 
ant might be omitted, nor any thing doubtful in- 
serted, without expressing the authority or infe- 
rence under which it stood, it was ultimately de- 
termined, that I should undertake the composition 
and arrangement of the intended work, while Mr 
Mariner should direct his attention to the mate- 
rials ; noting down all that he had seen and heard, 
as such occurred to his mind. These materials 
were afterwards made subjects of conversation and 
strict scrutiny ; and not one of the ensuing pages 
has been written without his presence and appro- 
val. In this way, it is presumed more useful and 
interesting matter has been elicited, than would 
have occurred to Mr Mariner ibrou!^ \Sk\<^ isi^^iasssL 
of Ms owa ojiassisted Tefleed^ma^ iox ca\£^^^c«^ 

B 2 



XXViii INTRODUCTION. 

tion recalls many things that would othermse 
have escaped the memory. It constantly demands 
elucidations ;— one idea gires birth to another, un- 
til the whole subject lies unfolded to the mind. 
* The specimens of Tonga music, contained in 
the second volume, I owe to the condescension 
Bnd kindness of my late intelligent and lamented 
friend the Reverend George Greenway ofFinsbury 
Circus, who did me the favour to note them down 
from Mr Mariner's voice ; and it now only re- 
mains, that I should inform the reader how I have 
been induced and enabled to construct the grammar 
and vocabulary of upwards of two thousand genuine 
Tonga words, which are appended to these volumes. 
One object which I had in view in constmcting 
the grammar was to satisfy my curiosity, by ascer- 
taining what sort of rules and idioms were pre- 
served in a language spoken by a people, who have 
no notion of grammatical laws, and who have no 
other conception of the art of writing than as a 
species of witchcraft, but who take a pride, at 
least the higher classes, in speaking their language 
with a sort of aristocratic propriety. I conceived 
also, that such an investigation would be acceptable 
both to the philologist and the philosopher; — to the 
former as regards the peculiaiities of human lan- 
gus^ — ^to the latter as respects the phenomena of 
the human mind. Tlie result did not dfea^^ouvl 



iNtRODUdTlOS. Xxik 

me. I discovered some interesting coincidences, 
^nd several peculiarities worthy of notice. Like 
Hebrew and Greek, the Tonga dialect has a dual 
number. It has a peculiar pronoun belonging to 
the first person plural, excluding the person spo- 
ken to ; a peculiar plural for intelligent beings ; 
three words expressing the action ofgiving^ accord- 
ingly as it may regard respectively the first, se- 
cond, or third pei*son to whom any thing is given; 
and many other points highly curious. The plan 
which I adopted to discover and assign the rules 
of this heretofore unwritten language, was this : — 
After Mr Mariner had carefully selected from an 
English dictionaiy all the words to which he could 
find appropriate Tonga phrases, and after having 
assiduously attended to the elementary sounds of 
the language and their articulations from Mr Ma- 
riner s pronunciation, and upon this basis determi- 
ned upon a system of orthogi'aphy, I undertook 
the charge of an-anging all the Tonga words al- 
phabetically, according to the system of spelling 
previously adopted. In the mean time. Mi* Mari- 
ner recalling to his mind sundry dialogues, popu- 
lar tales, speeches, and songs, wrote them down in 
tlie Tonga original, upon which I exercised myself, 
with his assistance and that of the vocabulax^^^sv 
makino' literal translations ; t\\GTe\yY X^vrnxsv^ '^va 
idiom and at the same time fiMnm^va^ ^^ ^'^ 



XXX INTRODUCTION. 

bulaiy wi^ additional words. I also collected ex« 
amples of the various turns of phrase in EngHah, 
and of all the parts of speech, for Mr Mariner to 
translate into the true Tonga idiom. Thus we 
ascertained what could be readily translated, what 
not ; where the language was ample in expression^ 
where poor ; what was definite, and what vague ; 
where there were rules, jmd where anomalies. By 
gradual but diligent procedure, the character and 
genius of the language were unfolded, and we 
soon arrived at the theoretical knowledge of its 
structure. In prosecuting this subject, I was gra- 
tified with the frequent proofs given me of Mr 
Mariner s great accuracy and the retentiveness of 
his memory, in the many translations and retrans- 
lations which were necessary for my purpose ; 
especially in regard to a speech of Finow, the 
king, on first coming into power, which I had lost 
for a time, and of which he furmshed me with an- 
other manuscript : when the first was found, on 
comparing them together they were almost verba- 
tim. 

Every attempt to a£ford accurate information 
respecting the manners, customs, and sentiments 
of any portion of the human species, cannot but 
be considered, in these enlightened days, at least 
a praiseworthy undertaking ; but to bestow much 
time and pains upon an investigation of the prin- 



INTRODUCTION. XXXi 

ciples of a barbarous laDgnage, like the <me in 
question, will, no doubt, in the eyes of many, ap- 
pear more curious than useful ; and how far such 
a view of the subject may be correct, every reader 
will judge for himself. To- me it appears almost as 
great a deficiency in the history of a nation to 
overlook the structure of its language, as to 
neglect any portion of its moral or political char 
racter. I may here take occasion to observe, 
that there is another class of readers, who, it is 
presumed, will not regret that this subject has 
been thus far investigated — I mean those who take 
a laudable pleasure in looking forward to the civi- 
lization and religious instruction of savage nations ; 
to effect which, in the most rational manner, is 
certainly to speak to them in their own language ; * 
and to construct a dictionary and grammar of it, and 
teach them to read it, is to do more for them than 
t;hey themselves could effect in many centuries. 
Lastly, as Mr Mariner, imder circumstances pecu- 
liarly favourable, had acquired a fiamiliar and per- 
fectly coiTect knowledge of their language, it ap- 
peared to me paramount to a duty to use those 
means that lay in my power to prevent all that he 

• The king and several other chiefs at the Tonga islands 

appeared quite surprised when Mr Mwincr informed them. 

that the object of the missionaTiea bsA \m«cv \a*vcv'«^:^>x^*v. 

ihem in the religion of the white peopV^ TLV\e>j\va^^^>^^>N 

tAst the latter came to live among Oaeta. ract^'^ ^ssw 

choice, as liking t\^Q climate better tXiwv Oasi« o^\i% 



xxxii IKTHODUCTIOK. 

had learnt in this respect from sinking for ever in* 
to oblivion. 

In order that no opportunity might be lost of 
securing greater accuracy to the following page% 
besides Jeremiah Higgins, * I sought out those of 
Mr Mariner's companions belonging to the Port 
au Prince, who had returned to England, and 
met with three viz. William Towel, Thomas 
Dawson, and Thomas Everefield, whose state- 
ments, as far as they went, were all confirmatory 
of Mr Mariner's more elaborate information. 

I might here go into detail with many other 
proofs of Mr Mariner's accuracy. I might re- 
fer to numerous places in Campbell's Voyage, 
which a{^eared after the first edition of the nar- 
rative part of this work was printed off, wher^ 
the author relates matters regarding the Sand- 
wich Islands, corroborative of what Mr Mariner 
has stated, f I might also quote Kotzebues 
Voyages, — Nicholaals Voyage to New Zealand,—* 
the Supplement to the Encyclopsedia Britan- 
nica, — ^the Quarterly Review, and other works 
where the ^< Account of the Tonga Islands " is 



* Of whom, see Preface to Second Edition. 

f The late king of those Islands, T^meahmeha, who, 

from his zealous endeavours to civilize and promote the 

prosperity of his country, has been called another Peter 

tt^ie Great, strongly solicited Mr Mariner to remain with 

Alia and be his aecreUary, 



INT&ODUCTION. xxxiir 

&yourably mentioned. With regard to its po- 
pular int^^st, I may refer to the French trans- 
lation of M. Def, published at Paris ; to the use 

. which the late Lord Byron has made of the tradi- 
tionary tale of the Cavern of Hoonga, in his poem 
of ^ The Island ; " and to other poetical efinsions 
founded upon the same subject. 

With regard to my own labours in this work, 
I shall presume to say nothing more than that I 
have spared no pains in my endeavours to render 
the following pages worthy of public confidence, 
and that my reliance on the truth of all Mr Mari- 
ner s details, after having so amply proved many of 
them, and found no inconsistency or contradiction, 
is such that I can never regret the time or pains I 
have bestowed on an interes^g, and I flatter my- 
self, instructive subject. I have been a little more 
full than I otherwise should have been in this In- 
troduction, in order that the mind of the reader 
may be prepared, without mistrust, for the quantity 
of interesting matter which so young a man has 

: observed and remembered. He was nineteen years 
of age when he left the Tonga Islands, and it is 
perhaps to the circumstance of his youth that we 
are indebted for so intimate a knowledge of the 
people. In conclusion it may be stated, that Mr 
Mariner is still in London, and baa Vif^Tv %^n^t^ 
yean situated ID the office of Mr ^dw^di'&'aaii^^^'k 



XXXir IKTRODUCTIOK. 

Stock-broker, No. 12, Copthall Court, new the 
Bank, — ^big residence No. 2, Stebon Place, Mile 
End, — and that his Portrait, in the frontispiece 
to this volume, is an excellent likeness. 



JOHN MARTIN. 



London^ August 1827. 



ACCOUNT 

TONGA ISLANDS. 



CHAPTER I. 



On Tuesday, February 12th, 1805, at eleven o'clock 
CT. m, the Port au Prince weighed anchor at 
Gravesend, made sail, and worked down the river. 
At twelve p* m, she came to an anchor at the 
Warp. Tlie following day she weighed anchor 
again, passed through the Downs with a fair wind^ 
and, sailing down the Channel, proceeded on her 
intended voyage. No circumstances worth men- 
tioning occurred during several weeks. The wind 
continued fair, but variable. On the 20th of March, 
in the afternoon, the mizen-mast gave way, by the 
jerk of a swell, and was found much decayed im- 
der the copper, in the way of the mizen-gaff : this 
damage, however, by the next day, was complete- 
ly repaired. On her arrival (April 9th) in lat. 2L 
55. S. long. 38. 38. W. a very heav^ ^^\vi ^'assiift, 
on. The foretopsail-yard, being novj ^^Q.w<i^xvi\ 
to be rotten in the slings, was Rent, dofwsv «s^^ "tvi,- 
voL. I, r 



36 VOYAGE OF THE 

« 

placed by a new one. The gale continued to in- 
crease, and, from three to five in the morning, con- 
tinual flashes of lightning came on from dLQferent 
quarters, with loud and repeated claps of thunder, 
succeeded by very heavy rains. 

From this period till the time of her arrival off 
the river of Plate, the weather was changeable, 
and for the most part stormy. On the 6th of May 
she commenced her cndze in this river. Nothing 
particular, however, occurred for several days, ex- 
cept the loss of a boy, who accidentally fell over- 
board, and was drowned, in spite of every exer- 
tion made to save him. On the 13th, being off 
the island of Lobosi a boat was sent on shore to 
reconnoitre. In the evening she returned, without 
having discovered any inhabitants ; a number of 
seals, however, were seen, and proper apparatus 
for skinning them, which, in all probability, had 
been used by persons from the mainland, in the 
habit of resorting to this island for the express 
purpose of procuring seal-skins. 

On Tuesday the 14th, two boats were sent on 
shore to the high land above Maldonado, to re- 
connoitre and kill wild cattle, which were seen in 
abundance. The vessel in the mean time plied in 
a bay under the high land. The boats returned 
next morning at eight o'clock, with one bull, not 
having been able to kill more, on account of the 
storminess of the weather, which rendered them 
too wild. The crew were, detained on shore much 
longer than they otherwise would have been, in 
consequence of the desertion of two men, who had 
been left to take cai'e of the boats ; and after a 
search of several hours, without effect, they were 
under the necesnhy of retunung witiboul \\i&tsv. 



PORT AU PRINCE. 37 

About three hours after their arrival on board, the 
two men in question were seen on the beach, mak- 
ing signals to be brought off, which being done, 
tliey were seized up, and received a dozen lashes 
each. Their object was to have gone over to 
Maldonado ; but a river lying in the way, one of 
them not being a swimmer, and the other unwil- 
ling to proceed by himself, they thought proper 
to return. 

On the 18th, finding it impossible to remain in 
the river, owing partly to the strong flood, and 
partly to contrary winds, she stood out of the ri- 
ver, and bore away on her voyage. The next 
day, very heavy gales coming on, she was found 
to make much water from a leak supposed to be 
on the larboard bow, near the surface of the water. 
The Falkland Islands appeared within sight, on 
Friday the Slst; a few days after whidb, the 
weather becoming calm, with a smooth sea, the 
carpenter was let down over the larboard bow, to 
nail lead and canvas over a cradked plank, now 
discovered to be the source of the leak. 

Monday the 17th of June, Cape Horn bore 
W. by S. four leagues. The weather was very 
8no¥vy. The leak still continued. On Wednes- 
day the 26th, Gilbert's Island bore N. &ve leagues. 
From this place she took a fresh departure. 

On Wednesday, the 3d of July, having doubled 
the cape, she fell in with the Earl St Vincent, 
Captain Pinkum, a South whaler, homeward 
bound, by whom she despatched letters for Eng- 
land. She received, at the same time, from on 
board this vessel, Thomas Tunvet^ \\ar^^^TNKSt^ 
concerning whom it may bo mtete«\iv&% \a %X»Xfe ^ 
few particulara. He went out a\ ^x^ «ti\«!«t^ ^ 



S8 VOYAGE OF THE 

South whaler, whose name is not now recollected ; 
she made a very successful voyage, and, <hi her 
return home, fell in with the Earl St Vincent, 
outward hound. Turner, heing encouraged hy 
his late good success, got permission to go on 
i)oard the Earl St Vincent, and went accordingly, 
with the view of doubling his good fortune. Tins 
▼essel was also yery successful. On his return 
home a second time he fell in with the Port au 
Prince, and went on board of her, as just related, 
with the same views of enjoying a continuation of 
the good success hitherto attending him. But the 
fiivours of fortune were now at an end ; by grasping 
at more, he soon lost all ; meeting with a most 
severe fate, as will be hereafter related. 

The Port au Prince having received information 
from the Earl St Vincent, that two South whalers, 
captured by the Spaniards, were detained at Con- 
ception, it was resolved that she should proceed, 
as it lay in her voyage, to endeavour to cut them 
out. Accordingly, on the 1 2th, she passed the 
island of Mocha with a fair wind, and steered a- 
long the coast for Conception. When off the island 
of St Mary's two boats were sent on shore for ve- 
getables ; a few men sick of the scufVy were also 
sent on shore to refresh. On the 20th of July, 
under American colours, she arrived off Quinquina, 
an island near the bay of Conception. Here four 
boats, well armed and manned, were sent on shore 
to procure stock, commanded by Mr J. Parker, 
first lieutenant ; Mr Russell, second lieutenant ; 
Mr Brown, whaling-master; and Mr Williams, 
officer of marines. Representing to the inhabitants 
that the Port au Prince was an American, they 
received iaformation in retumj that lYictft -we^ 



PORT AU PRINCB. 39 

two English whalers in the bay, exactly as was 
stated by the Earl St Vincent. They waited till 
dusk, and then proceeded from the island to Con- 
ception, assured by Thomas Turner that there were 
no guns mounted, nor any batteries ; of which he 
was fully convinced, he said, having formerly been 
on shore there. The weather, unfortunately, was 
now calm, which circumstance prevented the Port 
an Prince from getting into the bay to assist the 
boats. They, however, succeeded in boarding one 
of the whakrs (the Albion), and having secured 
tlie Spaniards and cut the cables, towed her about 
a quarter of a mile, the calm rendering her sails 
quite useless : and no doubt they would have suc- 
ceeded in towing her quite clear of the forts, for 
such there were, notwithstanding Turner's account, 
had it not been for an accident, occasioned by this 
unfortunate man. He was employed steering one 
of the boats, when happening to look to the prim- 
ing of his pistols, one of them unluckily went off: 
which alarming the sentinels on shore, two batter- 
ies were immediately opened upon them. It was 
here that Turner met his fate : to avoid the fire he 
stooped his body, bringing hb chin near his knees, 
when a shot took away his lower ja>y^, his left arm 
as for as the elbow, and bis right hand, grazing at 
the same time his left side, and carrying off the up- 
per fleshy part of his right thigh : it did not, how- 
ever, immediately kill him. The boat was much 
battered, and one lad was slightly wounded by a 
plinter. The calm still continuing, and the enemy 
eeping up a constant fii*e, they were obliged to re- 

iquish the prize. About six hours i^erwards 

iimer died of bk wounds. 

c 2 



40 VOYAGE or THE 

^ On Monday, the 22d, the wind coming in light 
brees^es, tlie Port au Prince endeavoured to get 
into the Bay of Conception. After coming within 
range of a seven gun battery, she hove in stays, 
and gave them a shot, which they immediately re- 
turned, striking the covering-board abaft the gang- 
way, and slightly wounding a boy. Finding it at 
last impracticable to do any thing with the fort, 
both the whalers being now hauled close under it, 
she stood out to sea. 

On Monday, the 29th, at ten o'c]o<*Jc p, m,, two 
boats were sent into the bay to reconnoitre. They 
found the town in a state of alarm, drums beating, 
and lights moving about in all directions ; but dis- 
covering that the ships were still close to the fort, 
they soon returned. On Wednesday, at five p, m^ 
she anchored in Coquimbo roads. At eight o'clock 
three Spanish gentlemen, mistaking her for a smug- 
gler, came on board with the expectation of find- 
ing contraband goods. A stratagem was used to 
confirm their opinion, till they should bring money 
on board to trade with. Samples of cloth, cut 
from the inside of the officers* coats, were accord- 
ingly shown to them as fair specimens of the qua- 
lity of the gtdods; on wliich they promised to 
bring money to make purchases. At ten the fol- 
lowing night, they returnod, accompanied by three 
others. They brought specie to the amount of 
4000 dollars. After having been entertained in 
the cabin till two or tliree in the morning, becom- 
ing anxious to see the goods, they were accord- 
ii?^]y conducted below, and informed that they 
rrere prisoners of war. At &:st \W^ Uiok it for 
^joke, and laughed heartily, Wt ftoonV^WMca^ ^- 
J'Jous enough, on being cotvVmceCL oi i^i^ \x>aJOi\, 



1»0RT AU PRIKCE. 41 

One of them was so much affected that he actu- 
ally swooned away. When the first shock arising 
from this unpleasant information was over, they 
began to be a little more reconciled ; and express- 
ed their expectations, that although they were pri- 
soners, their 4000 dollars would be returned ; but 
tbey were told in answer, that the Port au Prince 
being a private ship of war, and the men conse- 
quently having no wages but what consisted in the 
booty tbey migJit obtain, the money must un- 
doubtedly he retained. Don FelLx, one of them, 
and who well deserved liis name, did not make 
himself at all unhappy on the occasion, but ate, 
drank, and cheered up the rest as well as he could. 
On finding, at dinner, that his companions had lost 
theii* appetites, he very jocosely desired them to 
stand upon no compliments, but fall to and eat 
beartily, the whole being well paid for. 

The following day, August 2d, a letter was sent 
to the governor of tbe town, to inform him that 
the Port au Prince was an enemy ; and tliat, if he 
did not capitulate, tlie place would be taken by 
force. In the meantime, two more Spaniai'ds 
came on board with 400 dollars, expecting to 
purchase smuggled goods, but of course they met 
the fate of their six countrymen. In tlie evening 
four boats, well manne<l and armed, were sent on 
sbore to break open and plunder certain ware- 
houses opposite the vessel, about a mile and a 
half distant from the town, which was situated on 
the other side of the bay. Tlicy succeeded in 
bringing off 32 packed hides of tallow, ^<^^ ^^^^^ss 
of wine, four pigs of copper, wxvOi \i Tvwxs^a^^ ^^ 
fined hides. Tlie fii*st six pfiaoivwca \\ev:^ wsjt^ X^ 
berated and sent on shore, t\\ou^\v eowXX«rj ^» ^ 



42 VOYAGE OF THE 

inclination of a majority of the ship's company, wha 
wished them to be detained, with a view of getting 
a ransom. Captain Duc^ however, thought they 
had already paid dearly enough, and sent them 
away accordingly. About the same time, a bul- 
lock and several goats were procured from the 
Indians, for which, not being considered as ene- 
mies, they were punctually pakL 

Next day, the two remaining prisoners were 
ransomed for 300 dollars ; and an answer was 
brought from the governor, stating his determina- 
tion of defending the town to the last man. As 
the place was protected by twenty-two guns, and 
apparently by a considerable number of troops, it 
was not deemed advisable to attempt taking it. 

The ship now made sail to the northward, and 
on the 9th August arrived in Caldera Bay. The 
next night, the gunner and ten of the ship s com- 
pany deserted, carrying with them arms and am- 
munition. The foUowing day^ the vessel being 
still disguised as an American, five Spanish gen- 
tlemen coming on board to purchase goods, were 
detained prisoners of war, and a letter despatched 
to the governor, requesting him to seek out for 
the deserters, and send them on board in exchange 
for the prisoners. This he promised to do, if he 
could &id them ; but, not succeeding in the at- 
tempt, he sent a present of gold and silver ore to 
the captain, with a letter, stating that he could 
obtain no news of them. Captain Duck, there- 
fore, liberated the prisoners, without exchange or 
ransom. 

The following day (Sunday, the 18th of An- 
\gu8t) the ship weighed anchor, and made sail to 
the northward. Between this and the TVixxre^'K^ 



W>11T AU PRDSCE. 43 

following, three Spanish brigs and a boat were 
taken. One of them was cut out of Pisagna Bay, 
after having just discharged her cargo of wheat ; 
another was a small open vessel, laden with ma- 
nure ; and the two others were on their passage, 
one to Inquiqui, the other to Pavilion, to take in 
a similar cargo. The men were much dissatisfied 
at taking a parcel of dung-barges, as they termed 
them, instesid of rich Spanish galleons; She next 
made an attempt upon the town of Arica, but find- 
ing it too strongly defended, the attack was re- 
linquished. She then made sail towards Hilo, 
with the intention of taking it ; and as she could 
not get dose enough in shore, two six-pounders 
were put on board a prize brig, the Begonio, to 
anchor before the town, and cover the boats while 
landing. They succeeded in this attempt, not- 
withstanding a smart fire of musketry, which mor- 
tally wounded one mwi, and slightly wounded two 
others. The men being all landed, took refuse 
behind a rock, whence, seeing a fit opportunity, 
they rushed forth, drove the Spaniards out of the 
town, and took possession of it. In one house 
they witnessed a sc^ne sufficiently ludicrous, viz. 
the commandant and a fat firiar, so drunk that they 
could not stand ; these they secured without much 
trouble, in hopes of receiving a ransom for them. 

As the enemy was expected to come shortly in 
^p:^ater numbers from the country, — to defend them- 
eelves better they took possession of the church, 
«nd mounted a swivel on the steeple. In the 
mean while, they plundered and pillaged the \kWsi 
of every thing valuable. SVVvet easv^^v^^s^, ^Sw^.- 
iiees, incense pans, crucifixes, aa(i Vavw^«^ Ofi» ^ 
fiilver, constituted a rich booty. T^aa tlcsX. t»RB 



44 VOYAGE OF THE 

ing, at 8 a. m», the enemy not baying yet made his 
appearance, they secured all the plate that could 
be found, as well as the two prisoners, who, by 
this time, had Become tolerably sober, then set fire 
to the town, and returned on board. 

During tiie preceding night the Begonio had 
diiven from her anchor, drifted aground, and her 
people had been obliged to quit her. She after- 
wards took fire, and was entirely consumed. On 
Saturday the 7th, the commandant was sent on 
shore to procure his own and the friar's ransom. 

On Saturday the 14th, at 10 a. m., a boat wa» 
seen pulling towards the ship, which, in the course 
of an hour» came alongside, with six men, and 
proved to belong to the Minerva, South whaler. 
Captain Obit Cottle, of London. They stated, 
that the remainder of the ship's company, nineteen 
in number, had mutinied, shot the captain, and al- 
lowed them to have the two boats. When they 
left the Minerva, the mutineers hoisted a black 
flag, and declared themselves at war with all nations. 
On Thursday the 19th, a thousand dollars were 
discovered on board the prize brig, as also plate 
to the value of three or four hundred dollars. She 
was afterwards given up as a cartel, all the pri- 
soners being put on board of her. 

On Sunday the 22d, the Port au Prince fell in 
with the Lucy privateer, Captain Ferguson, from 
London, and in whose company, on the following^ 
day, she came to an anchor off Chinca, and two 
boats were then sent on shore with forty anned 
men from each ship. In the afternoon they re- 
tnmed, having succeeded in plundering the town, 
^thont, IioweveTf finding awy t\un^ oi usnic-li cnu- 



PORT AU PRINCE. 45 

Friday the 27th, the boats, manned and armed, 
were sent to attempt landing at a nunnery ; bat 
they could not effidct their purpose, owing to the 
surf, which ran very high, and were consequently 
obliged to return. 

On Friday the 4th of October, a sail being seen 
standing in for Paita, the two ships gave chase ; 
the Lucy being ahead, took her, and found her to 
be a king 8 tender bound to Paita, laden wiih 
pork, bready vinegar, and olive oil, for the Spanish 
frigate Astrsea, lying at anchor in Paita roads. 
This frigate soon after got under weigh, and gave 
chase to the two ships, which immediately stood 
out of the bay ; but at two p, m,, being three lea- 
gues from the shore, they tacked ship, and stood 
towards the Astrsea, and in half an hour com- 
menced a close action with her, when she bore up 
for the lee-shore, and engaged before the wind. 
At half past four the Port au Prince was close on 
the lee-shore in four or five fathoms water ; here 
she lost her mizen-top-mast, and was so much dis« 
abled in her rigging as to be obliged to discon- 
tinue the engagement. The Lucy, which had not 
received so much damage, had hauled off some 
time before, and made sail ; and Ae enemy seeing 
this, hauled off on the same tack. • The Port au 
Prince immediately bent a new main-top-sail (which 
bad been shot away), when the Astrsea, finding 
she did not gain ground, wore ship and stood in 
for Paita. The loss of the Port au Prince in this 
action was one lad killed and three men wounded. 
On Tuesday the 8th, the two ships stood in for 
Paita, to make another attack oti \\\e In^^d^^VraX 
she being hauled in shore, firm ^ ^\)^\AT^<k ^*V^ 
apringa on her cabled; her fthot wev^ ««x^ \» \^N 



46 . VOYAGE OF THE 

and as the two ships were ohliged to engage her 
under weigh, they found it impossible to take her^ 
The Port an Prince had here one man killed, and 
two carronades dismounted on the quarter*deck. 

The two ships now stood out of the bay in 
company, proceeded on their voyage, and on Wed- 
nesday the IGth made Chatham Island, one of the 
Gallipagos. On the following day they came to 
an anchor, but saw no signs of the prize that had 
been ordered to proceed to this quarter, nor ever 
afterwards heard of her. Whilst at this place, 
some turpin (land-tortoise) was procured from on 
shore ; and all the plate and dollars, which had 
been taken by the two ships in company, were 
equally divided between them. 

On Sunday the 3d of November, having parted 
company with the Lucy, the Port au Prince gave 
chase to one of three ships which appeared in 
sight and coming up, fomid her to be the Ameri- 
can ship Neutrality, Captain Foulger; the other 
two were the Britannia and British Tar, of Lon- 
don. The American had been in Psdta since the 
engagement with the Astraea, and reported that 
she was commanded by a Frenchman, and had on 
board several of the deserters from the Port au 
Prince. She had received orders from the viceroy 
of Peru to run aground, if she^ws^e hard pressed 
by an enemy. In the late engagement she was 
much damaged in the hull ; her fore-topmast was 
shot away, forty hands killed, and one hundred and 
twenty wounded. She would in all probability 
have struck, had she not heard from the deserters 
that the Port au Prince was very deficient in men 
and shot. 
On the 22d of this month, by the ad\\ce o^ ^t 



PORT AU PUIXCE. 47 

Brown, the whaling-master, she proceeded to sliift 
ber whaling-ground more to the northward and 
eastward. During this interval no particular trans- 
action occurred, except that Mr Johnson and Mr 
Bemai'd, who, it may be recollected, were the first 
and second mates of the Minerva, (the South wha- 
ler whose crew had mutinied), went on board the 
Rebecca, bound shortly for England. 

On Saturday the Ist of Februat)^, in latitude 
00. 14. S. longitude, 81. 50. W. she espied land, 
and accordingly steered in for it : at eleven, cu m, 
however, she tacked ship, and stood to windwaixl, 
with a view of getting to the isle of Plate, it being 
coDfiidered a good whaling ground. She made 
this isle on Tuesday the 4th ; and perceiving a sail 
to windward, sent three boats after her, took her, 
and found her to be the San Pedro,' in ballast, 
bound to Point St Helena for salt. On Thure- 
day following, still keeping a look out for whales, 
she fell in with a strange sail, boarded her^ anct 
found her to be the Spanish brig Santa Rosa del 
Carmo, laden with salt, flour, and tallow. Shft 
took her filongs'ule, discharged her of her cargo, 
and the next day, putting twenty prisoners en 
board of hor, gave her up as a caitel. 

On Friday the 14th, she captured the Trcnsito 
brig, from Toraaco, bound to Paita, laden with co- 
coa-nuts ; and on Monday following she stood into 
Tacanoes roads, to procure fresh provisions, where 
she came to an anchor in the afternoon, with tl:e 
two prizes in company. Here three armed boats 
were sent on shore, who, after a tirae^ \^\\«T\ft\ 
laden with oranges, limes, planXam^, \^\^ft-'K^^<i^^ 
S[c. as also a pi^ and a goat. TWy 'wcrA. ow ^.ot^ 
^gnin the next day, and procnTed two>rt>a!^ocVA«sv^ 
VOL /. , i> ^ 



48 VOYAGE OF THE 

an additional quantity of fruit. As no convenient 
watering-place was to be found here, the ship got 
under weigh on Tliursday the 20^, and steered 
ftrther north, towards Tola, and on the Sunday 
following came to an anchor in Tola roads. In 
the afternoon a letter was sent to the governor, re- 
questing stock : he very politely complied, and the 
boat returned with six pigs, a number of fowls, &c. 
The next day she took a canoe laden with jerk 
beef and pork ; but Captain Duck, understanding 
that it belonged to the governor, inunediately li^ 
berated it, by way of return for his politeness. It 
might hare been mentioned before, that while at 
Tacames a relation of the governor requested a 
passage to Tola, which the captain readily com- 
plied with, entertained him very well on board, 
and set him safe on shore at that place. This cir- 
cumstance, no doubt, in a great measure, gave rise 
to the unusual civility of the governor. 

During the time the ship remained at this place, 
the officers were very well received and entertain- 
ed at the governor s house. He was a very gen- 
tlemanly old man, kept a good table, and was 
happy to see his friends. He had an only daugh- 
ter, a very agreeable girl, of about sixteen, who 
had just come from a convent, where she had 
been educated. She was greatly concerned at 
hearing of the depredations committed by the Port 
au Prince at Hilo, where the church was plun- 
dered of its consecrated vessels. The attack 
which had been meditated upon the nunnery 
southward of Calao, also shocked her extremely. 
She lifted up her hands and eyes, uttered aome 
expressions in Spanish, and ^a^tue^ ior ^ \\\.\k 
^me under considerable agtiatvon. SSbtb cs^gfconr* 
^^4 in tolerably good Engfeb, \w^ ^^Ti&B«sa\A 



PORT AU PRIMCS. 49 

upon these subjects, in particular to young Mari- 
ner, then about fourteen years of age, and told 
him she was quite certain the ship would never 
again reach England. She asked him if he had 
any hand in robbing the church at Hilo; to 
which, when he replied jocularly that he only 
knocked down as many images as he could reach, 
she predicted that he would never agidn see his 
father and mother, and that the ship and all the 
crew wofold certainly be desti*oyed, as a just judg- 
men from God, for the heinous sacrilege which 
they had committed. — Mariner told her, that if 
slie were in England she would stand a chance of 
being punished for a witch ; which observation 
produced a laugh, accompanied by a pretty smart 
box on the ears. So great a favour, from so fair 
a hand, could not but be received in good part ; 
he accordingly took the first opportunity of going 
on board and bringing her a cheese, as a present 
(the scarcity of the article at this place render- 
ing it valuable), while she, not to be behind-hand 
in generosity, taking a pair of gold buckles from 
her shoes, gave them to him, reminding him at 
the same time, that she presented them merely 
88 an acknowledgment, for that they would not 
long be of service to him. He little thought at 
this time that her prediction was destined to be 
»o nearly fulfilled, and that only by hair-breadth 
escapes, his good fortune, after a lapse of years, 
would bring him through unforeseen difficulties 
and dangers, to his native country, ihough never 
to the sight of his mother, who died. ^iL\Kra!i%>».^ 
absence, learing his father to TCt^^cX wi ^^ ''««^* 
certain fate ofh son, whom V\e co\j\(Sl ^c%xc^^^^s^ 
to aee again. 



50 VOYAGE OF Tlir 



CHAPTER II. 

Aft£R Laving laid in tho requisite supplies at 
Tola, and taken leave of the governor with many 
acknowledgments for his civilities, they weighed 
anchor, and made sail, leaving the hrigs behind, 
having stripped them of their anchors, cables, 
sBihy he* 

Finding a leak to increase, which had hitherto 
appeared trifling, she proceeded towards the island 
of Cocos to careen, and on Saturday the 15th of 
February, came to an anchor in Chatham Bay. 
On nmning the guns over to starboard, and heel- 
ing the ship four streaks, the leak wad foimd to 
proceed from a graving-piece not being properly 
secm*ed under the fore-chains. After wooding, 
watering, and painting, she weighed anchor on the 
25th, and macle sail towai'ds the whaling ground. 
On Saturday the 5th of March, having made Pan 
de Azucar, which bore N. six or seven leagues, 
slie recommenced her whaling cruize; but, not- 
withstanding the most diligent look-out for two 
or three weeks, she was very unsuccessful ; hence 
the men became exceedingly discontented. On 
the 30th, she captured the Spanish brig Santa Isi- 
i/oxa. Captain Josef Evemzega, irom Gnidqnil, 
^aad to AcBpulcOy laden witK cocoa. K\. xaa- 
^'^ian, tl^ laud off Acapulco \>oto "S. ^Mtoac^b 



PORT AU PRINCE. '1 

-seven or eight miles, and the prisoners were pot 
on board their own boats, and sent on shore, with 
the exception of the Spanish carpenter, and one 
other man, who were detained. On this dav Mr 
M'Fariane, the smgeon, deserted. The following 
day Mr John Parker received charge of the brig'* 
to proceed to Port Jackson, with proper instroc-* 
tions for selling the vessel and cargo. He was 
allowed ten bands and four months provisions; 
and the Port an Prince now kept plying to wind- 
ward, keeping a good look-ont for whales. 

On Monday the 12th of May she candit foor 
whales, which, together with what had been cangbt 
before at sundry times, made np the nnmber to 
fifteen, being the whole that were taken during 
the voyage. From this period till June, no cir- 
cumstance transpired worthy of notice. 

On Tuesday the 3d of June, Cape Corientes 
bearing S. and J)y £. seven or eight leagues, they 
stretched into St Bias, and discovered a merchant 
vessel lying at anchor, apparently almost ready for 
sea. The Port an Prince immediately tacked ship» 
and stood out to the Maria Islands, under American 
colours ; for it would have been impossible to have 
cut this vessel out from her present station, pro- 
tected, as she was, by a strong fort at the top of 
a bill. The rainy season was now set in, com- 
mencing with heavy rains, thunder, and lightning. 
The merchantman was still riding at anchor, seem- 
ingly ready for sea ; and on Wednesday the 18th 
it was resolved to make all sail, and steer for St 
Bias, with intention of cutting hxx cjnX.\w \5c«i tm^j^^ 
At ten p. m, the Port an Ptmcft ^^\rw»3fic«A. '^nR 
rock JPedw de Mar, to be m re^AVxve^. ^^» *^^ 
time there came on a heavy ftqo»W> ^ViJ^ ^^BSi^* 

D 2 



52 VOYAGE OV THE 

tigiitniijg, and much rain. Towai'ds midnight it 
fell calm, and the'hoats were prevented from efifect- 
iog their purpose ; and before day-break, a small 
land wind springing up, the Port au Prince got off 
from the land without being discovered. As soon 
sw daylight appeared, the boats perceived from the 
rock that the vessel had attempted to come out, 
but being becalmed, had dropped anchor five or 
si^ miles from the batteries. One boat was im- 
mediately despatched to the Port au Prince, to in- 
form her of the circumstance, whilst the two re- 
maining boats proceeded to take possession of her. 
At noon, a fresh breeze springing up, the Port au 
Prince made all sail, and steered towards St Bias. 
At three p, m, the boats took possession of their 
expected prize, which proved to be the corbeta 
Santa Anna, Captain Francisco Puertas, laden 
with pitch, .tar, and cedar boards, bound to Guia- 
quil. The Spaniards had cut then* cable, and 
made an attempt to run in under the batteries, 
but the boats taking possession t)f her in time, 

grevented that intention. At day-light, the fol- 
>wing morning, twenty prisoners were sent on 
shore in the long-boat. Two negroes and two 
Spaniards, who entered for the Port au Prince, 
were i*etained. The two negroes would have been 
sent on shore ako, but they fell on their Icnces, 
and begged and prayed hard to be kept oh board. 
The captain of the prize was, indeed, very anxious 
that they should be sent on shore, as they were 
the propCTty of the owner ; but Captain Duck's 
humanity would by no means consent to this ; for 
they clasped his knees, and entreated him with 
j9£fc'/i earnest looks and words of persua^on, that^ 
a/t&ough be had no use for them, he couVd uolVx. 



PORT AU PRINCE* 5S 

listen to their request. They afterwarclH turned 
out to be very honest, faithful fellows. From the 
prize were taken two bullocks, a pig, two hundred 
weight of bread, a quantity of jerk-beef, fowls, 
pumpkins, and one hundred and seventeen dollars 
and three quarters. The command of the prize 
was given to Mr Maclaren, with twelve hands, 
besides a Spaniard to navigate her, with orders to 
proceed to Port Ja^ckaon, and proper instructions 
how to act on his arrival there. 

On the 23d of June, the Spaniard on board in- 
formed the captain that two vessels were expected 
daily at Acapulco, from Guiaquil. Tliey were 
laden with cocoa, and had sailed from the latter 
place but a few days after the Santa Isidora. The 
question of propriety in looking after these vessels 
now occasioned a dispute between Captain Duck 
and Mr Brown, the whaling- master. The cap- 
tain was of opinion, that they should be look- 
ed after, although contrary to their instructions ; 
Mr Brown, on die other hand, contended that the 
whaling cnuse should alone occupy their atten- 
tion, although the ground appeared so ba<L It 
was, however, at length determined that the Port 
au Prince should proceed for tlie island of Ceros, 
to make up for her ill success in her whaling ciiiize, 
by laying in a cargo of elephant oil and seal-skins, 
this being part of her instructions. The two ves- 
sels laden with cocoa were therefore, not waited 
for, although they would undoubtedly have been 
rich prizes. Here it may with propriety be re- 
mai'ked, that had the Port an Prince W^\l%SXi^ 
out alone as a privateer, she m\^\. \v^^ xck^^^ ^ 
gvofl voyage ; or had her mBtnict\oi^% \j««sv\w«5m^ 
discretiontLTy terms that the captaMX ^»^ " * 



54 VOYAGE OF THE 

acted according to his o^^ti judgment, she might 
equally Imve made a successful cruise. But liav- 
ing two objects in view, the attention being divid- 
ed between them, and all operations being fetter- 
ed by the rigidness of the instructions, her suc- 
cess was far less than what it otherwise would 
have been. 

No circumstance of importance occurred up to 
Friday the 1st of August, when she came to an 
anchor at the S. £. part of the island of t!eros. 

On Sunday, the carpenter was employed in ex- 
amining the state of the vessel ; and in the after- 
noon. Captain Duck finding himself very ill; went 
on shore. Next day, the carpenter discovering a 
plank very much eaten by rats, he removed it al- 
together, and replaced it with a new one. 

On Thursday the 7th of August, the O'Caen, 
an Anlerican ship, from Boston, came to an an- 
chor at this island. This vessel brought informa- 
tion that a Spanish sloop of war, in a leaky state, 
and laden with tributes for the viceroy of Peni, 
lay at anchor in an inlet, about three days sail to 
the northward, on the coast of California. These 
tributes were partly in money and partly in valu- 
able furs ; and a very rich prize, no doubt, she 
would have proved, and very easily taken, had 
not untoward events ordered matters otherwise. 
The people, of course, were eager to possess them- 
selves of so excellent a prize ; and Captain Duck, 
anxious to study the real interest of the owners, 
although by infringing upon the strict sense of 
their instructions, promiscKl the crew to go in pur- 
^'^ of their so much wished for <A>^ee\., «a boou as 
ho felt himaelf a little better. He <aMLTv^\.>flN«j\ 
^onrever, to execute his inteutiona ; «« \ve «\«^ «vv 



PORT AU PRINCE. 55 

Monday, the 11th -of August, at half past seven 
iu the afternoon. The command of the vessel now 
devolved on Mr Brown, whaling-master, who very 
much disappomted the expectations of the men, 
by refusing to look after the sloop of war ; urging 
as his reason, that the ship was leaky, and withal 
deficient in shot. He moreover stated his inten- 
tion of proceeding to the Sandwich Islands, to put 
the ship in such a condition as to enable her to 
proceed to Port Jackson, for a thorough repair. 

On Wednesday morning, the 13th of August, 
Captain Duck was buried on shore. Tlie captain 
and crew of the O'Caen attended the ceremony. 
A cedar board was erected at the head of the 
grave, in place of a tomb-stone, on which the 
name, age> and profession of the deceased was 
car/ed. He was indeed a very worthy man, bore 
a most excellent character, and was much lament- 
ed by the crew, many of whom shed tears of un- 
feigned sorrow on the occasion. In the afternoon 
of this day the conduct of Mr Brown was con- 
sidered very unwarrantable, as he obliged the men, 
notwithstanding all remonstrances, to try out oil, 
thougli several of them refused ; swearing they 
would, not work unnecessarily, on a day rendered 
solemn by the buiial of their captain. All this 
served to increase the general discontent on board. 
From this time every thing seemed to go badly 
with the Port au Prince. Her leaks increased, 
and the discontents of tlie men became every day 
more apparent. She left Ceros on the 23d August, 
and on Monday the 25th, came to an anchor oJU 
the Benito Islands, where she tem^vw^^ >l^^^^w- 
day tlw 15th of September, baViiv^ «,\3l\fc^ «sA\i\^ 
in 8338 seal'sidna. 



56 VOYAGE OF THE 

On Friday the 19th of September, having touch- 
ed at the island of Guadalonpe, she stood out to sea, 
taking a fre^ departure from this place for the 
island of Owhyee. The leak was now found to 
have increased so as to be at the rate of seventeen 
feet in twenty-four hours. On Sunday the 28th, 
at 6 a.i9i.,'0whyee appeared within sight, bearing 
W. by N. 20 leagues. Next day at noon a num- 
ber of the natives came on board, and showed to- 
kens of great friendship. At eight o'clock in the 
evening the ship anchored in Toeigh bay, and 
traded with the natives. On Tliursday the ninth 
of October she weighed anchor, and made sail for 
Woaboo ; ' and on Friday at noon came to an an- 
chor in Anahooroo bay. The chief of the island, 
hearing there was a sick man on board, refused 
permission to enter the close harbour ; and though' 
he died a few days afterwards, the permission was 
not granted, for fear of introducing disease into 
the country, which they said had happened on a 
former occasion, from an American ship. 

On Sunday the 26th, the vessel being plenti- 
fully stocked with hogs, fowls, plantsdns, sweet 
potatoes, tarra, &c. she weighed anchor, and pro- 
ceeded towards Otaheite, having received eight of 
the natives on board, who offered their services, as 
she was in want of hands on account of the leak ; 
which, as she proceeded on her course, was alai*m- 
ingly increased to the rate of nine inches and a half 
per hour. In order to ease the ship, it became 
■necessary to remove the carronades from off the 
quarter-deck, down below ; the try-works were 
also taken down, and the bricks thrown overboard. 

On Tuesday the 18th of November, as well as 
^f^^ral days preceding, the pumps were o\A\^e(SL \o 



FORT AU FRIMGS. 57 

be worked every half hoar out of two. By this 
time, finding she had missed Otaheite, she steered 

.. to the westward for the Tonga islands, and on 
Thursday the 27th of November, saw that part of - 
them called the Hapai islands, bearing W. twelve 
miles. The leak had now increased to eighteen 
inches per hour. 

On Saturday the 29th of November 1806, at 
4 ^. m., the Port aa Prince brought to, for the 
last time, in seven fathoms water at the N. W. 

.. point of one of the Hapai islands, called Lefooga, 
in the same place where Captain Cook had for- 

•^ merly anchored ; and in the evening, a number of 
Indian chiefs came on board with a large barbacu- 
ed hog, and a quantity oi ready dressed yams, as 
a present to the ship's company. With them came 
a native of Owhyee, who spoke a little English, 
which he had formerly learned on board an Ame- 
rican ship, that had taken him from the Sandwich 
islands to Manilla, and thence had brought him to 
die Tonga islands. Tins man, whose name was 
Tool Tooi, and of whom we shall hereafter have 
occasion to speak, endeavoured in every possible 
way to convince the ship s company that the na- 
■ tives were friendly disposed towards them ; but 
the Sandwich islanders, whom the Port an Prince 
had brought along with her from Anahooroo bay, 
declared their opinion that the Indians had hostile 
intentions, and advised Mr Brown to keep s 
ruratchful eye over them. Mr Brown, however, 

■ disregarded this sage admonition, otherwise ihe 
Port au Prince might again have reached EAv^gflK&.\ 
in safety, and he might have preaeT?^ \a& q'WCl 
Me, and the lives of many otheTS. 
Next monung, ibe men were ordered \o c«< 



68 VOYAGE OF THE 

the vessel, at which they all demurred, and some 
ahsolntely refused, heing desirous of going.on shore, 
as tfaey had been accustomed to do, on Sundays, 
at whatever place they had touched during die 
voyage ; and to this they were further encouraged, 
by the pernicious invitations of the natives. Irri- 
tated by these symptoms of discontent, the fault 
of which was in no small degree his own, Mr 
Brown seemed to have less use of his judgment^ 
at a time when he required it most. The men 
came aft, to request pennission to go on shore, 
which he peremptorily refused, telling them that 
they might go to h — ^1 if they pleased, but that 
they should not go on shore till the work was done 
on board, and ordered them inmiediately to quit 
the quarter-deck. Shortly after, James Kelly 
jumped up on the gang-way with a Spanish stiletto 

in his hand, and swore by G he would run the 

first through the body who attempted to 

stop him. He then hailed a canoe, and his ex- 
ample was instantly followed by three others, George 
Wood, the carpenter's ma^je, William Baker, and 
James Hoay, taking with them all their clothes ; 
and not long after, fifteen others took the same 
step. In the afternoon the remsunder of the erew 
came aft, with a complaint that a considerable num- 
ber of the natives had assembled between decks, 
aimed with clubs and spears, whose behaviour 
gave ample grounds to suspect that they intended 
to take the vessel. This was indeed their object, 
liaving ah-eady digested their plan, which Mr Ma- 
riner afterwards learned fron^ a young chief named 
Vaca~ta-Bola ; and it will be well to relate it here 
^p its proper place, although they A\A i\o\. ^X >3»a 
^'fne succeed. During' thia pmod, Viwak-ta.-'^N\^ 



PORT AU PRINCE. 59 

iBod another chief were sitting in the cabin with 
Mr Brown, Mr Dixon, and Mr Mariner. While 
there, a canoe was to come under the stem, and 
Vaca-ta-Bola was to rise ap suddenly, and call 
out with seeming earnestness to the people in the 
canoe ; on which, it may be supposed that Mr 
Brown and Mr Dixon would naturally turn their 
heads out of curiosity to see what was going for- 
ward in the canoe ; and at this moment the two 
chiefe were to knock them down with short iron- 
wood dubs, concealed under their dress. Before 
the canoe arrived, however, Mr Mariner happen- 
ing to go into the steerage, met the men coming, 
as before stated, to inform Mr Brown of the threat- 
ening appearance of the natives. Mr Brown 
seemed at first not inclined to pay attention even 
to this new warning of danger ; but when Mr Ma- 
riner assured him that what the men stated wa» 
correct, and that, at all events, it would be but 
common prudence to inquire into it, and satisfy 
their apprehensions, he went upon deck, leading 
Vacar-tarBola by the hand. Mr Dixon and the 
ether chief followed. During this time, Mr Ma^- 
riner could not help observing that the two chief» 
tomed pale, evidently much agitated; which he 
attributed to fear, occasioned by the bustle which 
appeared, without their understanding the cause ;- 
biit laaagining their plot discovered, and their ftite 
inevitable. When they arrived upon deck, and 
wore ^ven to understand that Mr Brown did not 
Hke to have so many men on board aimed with 
clubs and spears, they pretended to interest them- 
selves very much in Uirowing ihea «xm% i^nq^quvsc^ 
Mttd in ordering the natives out ol i\ie ^v^« ^Ndte 
, vou I. :e 



60 VO^CAGB OF THE 

a view of wearing also a pacific appearanoe, Mr 
Brown> on hb part* ordered the tomahawks, hoard- 
ing-pikes, and other arms to be remoTed below. 
In the evening, after the natives had gone on shore, 
the carpenter and sail-maker represented to Mr 
Brown the propriety of having the muskets np, 
and placing centinels on deck to keep the natiTea 
off, as their number prevented them from work- 
ing ; but, unfortunately, too self-willed and obsti- 
nate, he treated every wholesome admoniUon with 
indifference, and no such measures were taken* 

The foUowing fatal morning, Monday, the Ist 
December 1806^ at eight o'clock, the natives be- 
gan to assemble on board, and soon increased to 
300 in different parts of the ship. About nine 
o*clock, Tool Tool, the Sandwich islander before 
mentioned, came on board, and invited Mr Brown 
to go on shore, and view the country ; who imme- 
diately complied, and went unarmed. About half 
an hour after he had left the ship, Mr Mariner, 
who was in the steerage, went to the hatch for 
the sake of the light to mend a pen, when, look- 
ing up, he saw Mr Dixon standing on a gun, en- 
deavouring, by his signs, to prevent more of the 
natives coming on board. At this moment he 
heard a loud shout from the Indians, and saw one 
of them knock Mr Dixon down with his club. 
Too surely convinced what now was the matter, 
be ran towards the gun-room, when an Indian 
caught hold of him by the hand, but, escaping 
from his grasp, ran dovm the scuttle, where he 
found the cooper. Considering the magazine the 
safest place, they ran immediately there ; and hav- 
hi^ consii}ted what was best to be done, they came 
/5^ ^^e resolution of blowing up the veawV ww 



FORT AU PRIMCK. G1 

le Samson of old, to sacrifice, themselves and 
/heir enemies together. Bent u|lftn this desperate 
enterprise, Mr Mariner repaired to the gon-room to 
procure flint and steel, hat was not ahle to get at 
the muskets without making too much noise, for 
the arm-chest lay beneath the boarding-pikes, 
which had carelessly been thrown down the scut-* 
tie the preceding erening ; and the noise occa^ 
tioned by clearing them away, as the uproar 
above began to cease, would undoubtedly have at^ 
tracted the notice of the. Indians. H^ therefore 
returned to the magazine, where he found the 
cooper in great distress from, the apprehension of 
his impending fate. Mr Mariner next proposed 
that they should go at once upon deck, and meet 
their &te, while their enemies were hot with 
slaughter, rather than, by greater delay, subject 
themselves to the cruelties of cooler barbarity ; 
and, after some hesitation, the cooper consented to 
follow if Mr Mariner would lead the way. The 
latter thereupon went to the gun-room, and lifting 
up the hatch a little, saw Tool Tooi and Vaca-ta- 
Bola examining Captain Duck*s sword and other 
anns that were in his bed-place. Their backs 
being turned, he lifted oiF the hatch entirely, and 
jumped up into the cabin. Tooi Tooi instantly 
turning round, Mr Mariner presented his hands 
open, to signify that he was unarmed and at their 
mercy; then uttering aroghah / (a word of friendly 
salutation among the Sandwich islanders) he asked 
, him, partly in English, and partly in his own lan- 
guage, whether he meant to kill him, as he was 
ready to meet his fate. Tooi Tooi replied in bro- 
Ireif Englisb, that he should not \>e Wy\,^ ^y& ^<^ 
cbicA were already in possesion ol \)wi A\\^n ^s^ 



68 VOYAGE OF THE 

lliat he wished to be informed how many persons 
there were below. To this Mr Mariner answered, 
that there was only one; and called up the cooper, 
who had slowly followed him. Tool Tooi ^en 
led them npon deck towards one of the chiefs, who 
had the direction of the conspiracy. 

The first object that struck Mr Mariner's sight, 
on coming upon deck, was enough to thrill. the 
stoutest heart. Up<m the companion a short 
squab naked figure, about fifty years of age, was 
seated, with a seaAian's jacket soaked in blood, 
thrown over one shoulder; on the other rested 
his iron-wood club, spattered with blood and 
brains : while the frightfulness of his i^pearance 
was increased by a constant blinking with one of 
his eyes, and a horrible conynlsive motion on one 
side of his mouth. On another part of the deck 
th^e lay twenty-two bodies perfectly naked, and 
arranged side by side in regular order, but so 
dreadfully bruised and battered about the head, 
that only two or three of them could be recognis- 
ed. At this time a man had just counted them, 
and was reporting the number to the chief; im- 
mediately after which they began to throw them 
overboard. On Mr Mariner and the cooper being 
brought into his presence, he looked at them a- 
while and smiled, probably on account of their dirty 
appearance. Mr Mariner was then given in charge 
to a petty chief to be taken on shore, but the 
cooper was detained on board. 

lu his way to the shore the chief stripped him 

of his shirt. The circumstance of his having just 

escaped death was by no means a consolation to 

Mlm. Reserved he knew not for what hardshipsk 

^ feU hit mind hardened by a sort of curaileiA 



PORT AU PRINCE. (53 

di^rence m to what might happen ; and if he had 
any consoling hope at all, it was tliat he might he 
going on shore to fall hy the club of some sangui- 
nary chief not sated with that day's slaughter. 

In a little while he was landed, and led to the 
most northern part of the island, to a place called 
C0-00I09 where he saw, without being much af- 
fected at the sight, the cause of all that day's disas- 
ters, Mr Brown, the whaling-master, lying dead 
upon the beach : his body naked, and much bruis- 
ed about the bead and chest. They asked Mr 
Mariner, by words and signs, if they had done 
right in killing him ; and as he returned them no 
answer, one of them lifted up his club to knock 
out his brains, but was prevented by a superior 
chief, who ordered them to take their prisoner on 
board a large sailing canoe. Whilst here, he ob- 
served upon the beach an old man, whose counte- 
nance did not speak much in his favour, parading 
up and down with a club in his hand. At the 
same time a boy, who - had just come into the ca- 
noe, pointed to a fire at a little distance, and, ad- 
dressing himself to Mr Mariner, pronounced the 
word mate* (meaning to kill), and made such 
signs as gave him to understand nothing less than 
that he was to be killed and roasted. This idea 
rooaed him from his state of mental torpor, and 
gave him much alarm, which was not lessened by 
the sight of the old man just mentioned, who ap- 
peared in no other light than that of an execu- 
tioner waiting for his victim. About half axv \\spqsl 

• The word mate ^pronounced SomelVung "^^ •nxdrVa'^ ) 
ia the common word throughout the SoulVv Se«^\Aaxv^^a^ 
**tokm." MrM. had learnt it at the SatvewncYi \'2ia»a« 

E 2 



64 VOYAOB OF I'HE 

afterwards, a number of people came to the caaoey 
landed him, and led him towards the fire, near 
which he saw, lying dead, James Kelly, William 
Baker, and James Hoay, liu'ee of those who had 
first mutinied. Some hogs were now brought to be 
cooked ; and Mr Mariner was undeceived respect- 
ing what he had imderstood from the gestures of 
the boy in the canoe, who, it was now evident, 
merely meant to imply that some of Mr Mariner's 
countrjrmen lay dead where he pointed, and that 
there they were going to roast or bake some hogs. 
, From this place he was led towards the island 
of Foa. On the way they stopped at a hut, where 
they stripped him of his trowsers, notwithstanding 
his earnest solicitations to retain them ; for he 
already felt the effect of the sun upon his back, and 
dreaded a total exposure to its heat. He was then 
led about bare-footed, and without any thing to 
cover him, the heat blistering his skin in a most 
painful manner. Every now and then some of the 
natives came up to him from motives of curio- 
sity, felt his skin to compare it with their own, or 
likened it rather (as he aifiterwards understood) to 
the skin of a scraped hog, from its whiteness, while 
from malice, or rather wantonness, others spat upon 
him, pushed him about, and threw sticks and co- 
coa-nut shells at him, so that his head was cut in 
several places. After having thus tantalised and 
led him about for a considerable length of time, » 
fast as the soreness of his feet would permit him t 
walk, a woman happening to pass, from motives 
compassion, gave him an apron made of the leav 
of the chee-tree^ with which he was permitted 
^n?/- himself. At iength they entered a > 



PORT AU PRINCE. 05 

and sat down to drink cava, * putting him in a eor- 
Ber, and desiring him by signs to sit down, it be- 
ing considered very disrespectful to stand np be-* 
fore a superior, — ^the piinciple of which point of 
etiquette will be explained in another place. 

Whilst his persecutors were thus regaling them- 
selves, a man entered the hut in grea;! haste ; and 
having said something to the company, took Mr 
Mariner away, with him. As they were going 
along, they met one of the Sandwich islanders, 
whom the Port au Prince had brought from Ana- 
hooroo Bay, who gave Mr Mariner to understand 
that Finow, the king of the islands, had sent for 
him. On his arrival, the king beckoned to him, 
and made signs that he should sit near him, and 
as he entered the place, the women, who sat at 
the other end of the room, beholding his deplora- 
ble condition, with one voice uttered a cry of pity, 
beating their breasts, and excluming, O yttoo / 
chiodofa ! Alas ! poor young man ! Fortunately 
for Mr Mariner, Finow had taken an extraordinary 
liking to him from the first moment he had seen 
bim on board. He thought he was the captain's 
son, or at least a young chief of some consequence 
in his own country ; and had given orders, that if 
they found it necessary to kill the white men, they 
shonld, «t any rate, preserve Mr Mariner^s life. 
The long now put his nose to his forehead (a 
mark of friendly salutation) ; and soon after ob- 
aenring that he was very dirty, and much wound- 
ed, he desired one of iiier wimien attendants to 
take him to ^a pond within tlie feiiCAiv^ q\ "^^^ 

* An infbskm of the root of a 6pec\e& t/t ^^ V^'^'^ 
p/ant, the mode of preparing wbich, an^ «!««raCTii| «*- 



66 VOYAGE OF THS 

house, whore he might wash himself. On his re- 
tain to the presence of the king, he was sent to 
the other end of the house, where he was oiled aU 
orer with sandal-wood oil, which felt very i^ree- 
able, alleviating the smart of his wounds, and 
greatly refreshing him. He now received a mat 
to lie down on, where, overcome by fatigue, both 
of mind and body, he soon fell fast asleep. Dur- 
ing the night he was awakened by one of the wo- 
men, who brought him some baked pork and some 
yam ; but being somehow prejudic^ against the 
pork, lest it should be human flesh, he did not 
taste it, but ate heartily of the yam, not having 
tasted any thing since breakfost the preceding day* 
On getting up the next morning, he was much 
surprised at perceiving every body with their heads 
shaved — a practice which is always adopted at the 
burial of Tooitonga, a great personage hereafter to 
be described, whose funeral was performed that 
day. In the course of the morning, Finow took 
him on board the ship, where he was much grati« 
fied in meeting several of the crew, who had been 
ordered on board to bring it close in shore. The 
king 8 orders being understood, they cut the cables, 
and worked her through a very narrow passage, 
so iilll of rocks and shoals as to appear almost un- 
navigable. Through the medium of Tool Tool, 
the king was now informed, that unless his men 
(nearly 400 in number) were to sit down, and re- 
main perfectly quiet, it would be impossible to 
Work the ship ; which orders being momently gi- 
ven, and implicitly obeyed, she was brought with- 
in half a cable's length of the shore, and run a- 
S^^ond by Finow'a dlrecdona* 



THK TONQA ISLAND^ G7 



CHAPTER IH. 

After the ship was run aground, the folio wing 
two or three days were employed in striking the 
masts, and conveying on shore two of ^e canon- 
ades and eight barrels of gunpowder, being all that 
remained fit for use. Many of the natives, in the 
mean while, were busily engaged in stripping the 
iron from the upper works, and knocking the hoops 
off the casks in the hold— *iron being a most var 
kiable commodity to them ; and during tiiese ope- 
rations the ground tier of cnl burst out, and suffo- 
cated eight of the natives. Ihree other men were 
at the same time severely wounded, by some butts 
bursting out on them while they were in the act 
ef knocking off the hoops. - In consequence of this 
great discharge of oil, the water in the hold was 
coveted with it, to the depth of several feet. Two 
men, who had struggled out of it, strongly ex- 
pressed their amazement afterwards, to Mr Mari- 
ner, at the difficulty they experienced in rising 
through the oil. They could swim in the water 
below easily enough ; but as soon as diey e,iQftx%> 
ed from the water into the stratum c^ oA ^iE»Qr«^> 
the J&S8 eped&c gravity of the lattex xeiijSASC^V^v^^ 
accent dimcult. They oomprebeuddA ^ wMi^» 



6B TRANSACTIONS AT 

however, very weU, as soon as he had learned the 
language sufficiently to explain it to them. 

In the mean time, finow, observing one of the 
natives busily employed cutting out the iron fid 
from the maintop gallant-mast, and as he was a 
low fellow, whom he did not choose should take 
such a liberty, he was resolved to put a stop to 
his work. Calling to a Sandwich islander, ;^ho 
was amusing himself on deck by firing off his 
musket, * he ordered him to bring that man down 
from aloft. Without the least hesitation, the 
Sandwicher levelled his piece, and instantly brought . 
him down dead ; upon which Finow laughed 
heartily, and seemed mightily pleased at the fEUali- 
ty with which his order had been obeyed. The 
shot entered his body, and the fall broke both thighs 
and fractured his skull. Afterwards, when Mr Ma* 
rmer understood the language, he asked the king 
how he could be so cruel as to kill the poor man 
for so trifling a fault. His majesty replied, that 
he was only a low, vulgar fellow (a cook) ; and 
that neither his Hfe nor death was d. any conse- 
quence to society, f 

On Tuesday, the 9th of December, it being 
spring-tides, the ship floated, and was warped in 
to low water mark ; and in the evening they set 
fire to her, in order to get more easily at the iron 
work. All the great guns on board were load- 

^ The Sandwich islanders are pretty well acquainted 
with the use of fire-arms. Their chief had, at that time, 
2000 stand of muskets, procured at difierent times from 
American ships. 

f The lower orders are thought to have no souls, and 
^ cook is considered the most vulgar profeaaiotv aTaon^ 
^^«w/ trAiie a Carpenter in esteemed the m09lttc«9«MBX>\^% 



V 



TUB TONOA iai«AND@. 69 

iy and AB they began to be hepted by the ge- 
jenl cmiflftgratioo, they went off, one after an- 
other, prodncing a terrible panic among the na- 
tives. Mr Mariner was, at this time, asleep 
at a honse near the shore ; being soon, however, 
awakened by the noise <^ the guns, he saw seve- 
ral of the natives nmning into the house in a great 
fright. They, no doubt, thought every thing was 
going to wreck and ruin. Seeing their distress, he 
gave them to understand by signs that nothing 
was to be feared, and that they might go to sleep 
in safety. After the guns had ceased firing, he- 
went down to the beach, and found the ship burnt 
to the water's edge. He walked to the house 9r- 
gain, filled with melancholy reflections, and, reti- 
ring to his mat, sleep at length brought a tempo- 
rary relief to his afflictions. As soon as it was 
daylight, the natives flocked to the beach, and, by 
the direction and 'assistance of Mr Mariner and 
some of the crew, got five of the carronades on 
shore, by tying a rope round them, and dragging 
them widi the main strength of two or three hun- 
dred, men. A few days afterwards, three more 
carronades were brou^t on shore in like manner, 
and also four long guns, but which, on account of 
their weight, were never afterwards used. 

About a week now elapsed without any mate- 
rial circumstance occurring, during which time Mr 
Mariner for the most part kept within doors, by 
die advice of Finow, lest he diould be injured by 
the wantonness or malice of the lower orders, who 
took every opportunity of insulting him. On the 
16th of December, Finow, having a mind to go 

to the laland of Wihai for the vecx^voik ol ^Six^c^v 



70 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ing rats, * invited Mr Mariner to accompany kinr. 
The inhabitants of this isknd made great njoic* 
ings on account of FinoW's arrival. He remained 
th«« three or four days. One morning, during 
finow s stay at this island, some of the natives 
brought Mr Mariner's watch, which they had pro- 
cured from his chest, and, with looks of curiosity, 
inquiied what it was. He took it from them, 
wound it up, put it to the ear ef one of them,, and 
returned it. Every hand was now out-stretched 
with eagerness to take hold of it ;— it was applied 
in turns to their ears ; — they were astoni^ed at 
the noise it made ; — ^they listened again to it, turn* 
ed it on every side, and exclaimed, <' Mo-ooi I " 
(It is alive !) They then pinched and hit it, as if 
expecting it would squeak out. They looked ai 
each other with wonder, laughed aloud, and snap- 
ped their fingers. One brought a sharp stone for 
Mr Mariner to force it open with. He opened it 
in the proper way, and showed them the work. 
Several endeavoured to seize hold of it at once, 
but one ran off with it, and all the rest after him* 
About an hour afterwards, they returned with the 
watch completely broken to pieces ; and, giving 
him the fragments, made signs to him to make it 
do as it did before. Upon his making them un- 
derstand that they had killed it, and that it was 
impossible to bring it to life again, the man, who 
considered it as his property, exclaiming mow'4nouf 
(spoiled I), and, maJdng a hissing noise, expressive 
of disappointment, accused the rest of using vio« 
lence, and they in return accused him and each 

* Rats are frequently used as an article of diet by the 

-^frw orders The ekiefa shoot them mereW for amuse^ 
JxreMi. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 71 

Other. While they were in high dispntei another 
native approached, who had seen and learned the 
use of a watch on board a French ship. Under- 
standing the cause of their dispute, he called them 
all cow vale (a pack of fools), and explained, in the 
following manner, the use of the watch : — Making 
a circle in the sand, with sundry marks about its 
circumference, and turning a stick about the centre 
of the circle, to represent an index, be informed 
them that the use of the watch was to tell where 
the sun was : That when the sun was in the east, 
the watch would point to such a mark, and when 
the sun was highest it would point here, and when 
in die west it would point there ; and tliis, he said, 
the watch would do, although it was in a house, 
and could not see the sun ; adding that, in the 
night-time, it would tell what portion of a day's 
length it would be before the sun would rise again. 
It would be difficult to convey an adequate idea of 
dieir astonishment. One said it was an animal, 
another said it was a plant ; but when he told them 
it wa9 manufiactured, they all exclaimed, Fonnsaa 
hoto ! What an ingenious people I All this Mr 
Mariner collected partly by their gestures, and af- 
terwards more fully when he understood their km* 
gnage, and conversed with this man, who always 
prided himself upon his knowledge of the use ef 
a watch, calling himself Papalangi (an European). 
- About the 20th of December, Mr Mariner re- 
turned to Lefooga along with Finow. His life 
was still not only uncomfortable, but often expk>8ed 
to many dangers, or, at best, he suffered maxL^^ ydl« 
suits from the wantonness and inQXe^iAeiMu& ^ ^^ 
hwer orden. Tool Tool he (Baco^ct^^. '^wsk Vi 



72 TRANSACTIONS AT 

no meaufi bis friend ; on the contrary, be endea- 
Yonred to persuade Finow to kill both bim and 
the other Englisbmeny lest a ship should arrive, 
and learning from them the £ate of the Port an 
Prince, take an ample revenge for the injury done 
their countrjrmen. But Finow, fortunately, was 
not of this opinion ; he conceived that white peo- 
ple were of too generous and forgiving a temper 
to take revenge, and therefore decUned doing them 
any farther mischief. 

As Mr Mariner had in bis possession a few 
printed books and some writing paper, be wa* 
often found by Finow either writing or reading* 
One day the latter desired him to give up all his 
books and papers, which, when he had done, with 
the exception of a journal of the voyage, he had 
the mortification to find that they were ordered to 
be burnt. On requiring an explanation of this ex- 
tracMrdinary conduct, on the part of a man who ap- 
peared on other occasions to be so much his friend, 
he was informed, through the medium of Tool 
Tool, that the king could not, on any account, al- 
low him to practise witchcraft, to the injury of the 
Topga people ; and that it was well known to the 
king and many others, that those books and papers 
were instruments and means of invocation, to bring 
down some evil upon the country. Mr Mariner 
could not very well comprehend Tool Tooi's m- 
terpretation ; but when he afterwards understood 
the language, the king gave him the following : 

'^ Some years ago, on the arrival of an Euro- 
pean vessel, one of the white men came to live 
among them by choice. This man s name was 
MorgBft<. He Jived for a considerable time on 
^vxiis of great jGiendsbip with the nativea, aad vr 



\ 



THB TONGA ISLAUDS. 73 

inich respected hy them. Some time afterwards 
there came another Emvpean ressel," (the Duff, 
Captain Wilson, with the missionariefl),* *' and from 
this ship also there came seyei-al white men, to 
Kve hy choice among them. The white men that 
came last bnilt a house, in which they nsed often 
to shut themselves up, to sing and perform cere- 
monieS) (as Finow expressed it). Matters went 
on tery well for some time. At length a qnarrel 
emmed between Morgan and the other white men, 
at first about an iron pot which he wanted to bor- 
row of them, and then about some pigs which they 
said he had stol^ from them. Upon this they in- 
formed the chiefs that this Morgan had been a bad 
man in his own country, and was under sentence 
erf banishment for his crimes; but from the friU 
execution of which he had escaped." (He had 
actually escaped from Botany Bay). " The peo- 
ple then began to treat Morgan with every species 
of insult, so that his life was very uncomfortable, 
and often in great danger. Morgan, in his turn, 
told the chiefs who ^i^ were, viz. that they were 
men sent out by the king of England to bring a 
pestilence upon the people of Tonga, and that they 
accordingly shut themselves up in this house, to 
perform witchcraft, and make incantations, which 
was the cause of the pestilence that then raged ;* 
(there was an epidemic disease at the time, which 
was very fatal among the chiefs, two or three dy- 
ing every day) ^' and that all their books were 
books of witchcraft. The chiefs began to toko 
Morgan's statement into serious consideration; 
there certainly was a great mortality among them ; 
the white men often asBem\Aed, wcv<i ^"axi^ N«r»| 
* See*' Constable's MisccUany,'* no\. nW. ij, Vo»^ 



74 TRANSACTIONS AT 

loud ; besides which, they would not let the Tonga 
people he present ; and to prevent them even from 
peeping through the crevices of the reed fencing 
of the houae, &ey stopt them up with all kinds H 
filth, knowing that the cleanliness of the Tonga 
people would not then allow them even to i^yproach. 
And the chiefe said to themselves, if these people 
are doing no harm, why do not they allow us to 
be present? we do not conceal our ceremonies 
from them, why do not they expose theirs to us ? 
In the mean while, Morgan said to the chiefs, 
* Yen see the effect of their incantations ; several 
of you are dying every day ; by and by you will 
be all cut off, and the king of England will take 
possession of your islands ; for although you have 
the remedy in your power, you will not make use 
of it. ' — The chiefs took the alarm in time ; they 
rushed upon the white men, and killed all but 
three, * who were at ^t time under the protec- 
tion of Veachi;" a great chief, hereafter to be 
noticed. 

Such was the cause of the fate of the mission- 
aries, as related by the king to Mr Mariner, who 
often afterwards heard the dame relation from other 
chiefs. He inquired what became of the three 
that were under the protection of Veachi, and 
learnt that they were killed during a civil war. 
They might indeed have made their escape, along 
with some natives who invited them into a canoe, 
which was going to another island, but they chose 
to remain ; urging for their reason, that they had 
not quairelled with any of the Tonga people, and 
^at consequeniiy they should not be hurt» Tlie 

^ * /^Wmh the " Transactions of t^e 'MVM&.QaHT) %MMft<] ;' 
It aon»^^ li^^ only throe wttc^WeA. 



THE TONGA I8LAHDS. 75 

Others inFormed them, however, that it was the 
Ton^ CQstom not only to kill an enemy, hut also 
all hiB friends and relations, if possihle ; when the 
three missionaries replied, that, as they had done 
no harm, and meant no harm, their God would 
protect them. At this moment, a party of na* 
tives, who were lying in wait in a neighbouring 
thicket, rushed out and killed them with their 
spears. 

Bitt, to return from this digreesion, Mr Mariner 
and his companions, ignorant of the language of 
the country, and of the customs of the people, 
were often much distressed for want of food. 
Sometimes, indeed, it was brought to them, but 
often not. Sometimes they were invited by the 
natives to walk into their houses and eat with 
them ; but frequently they seemed to be quite 
neglected, and were reduced to the ' necessity of 
procuring what they wanted by stealth. At length, 
through Tooi Tooi's interpretation, Mr Mariner 
made known their wants to the king, upon which 
the latter seemed greatly surprised at their appa- 
rent stupidity ; and inquired how food Was obtained 
in England. On hearing that every man procured 
the necessary supplies for himself and family by 
purchase, and that his friends, for the most part, 
only partook by invitation, and that strangers weiB 
seldom invited, he laughed at what .he called the 
ill-nature and selfishness of the white people ; and 
told Mr Mariner the Tonga custom was far bet- 
ter ; that he had nothing to do, when he felt him- 
self hungry, but to go into any house where ««^** 
ing and drinking were going f otw«c^, ^^'^X Vvcbs^ 
down without invitation, ailid p«i\»3ftft -^iSJ^ ^^c»^ 



76 TRANSACTIONS AT 

oompiiiiy. After this, the generality of the natives 
made this selfishness, as they considered it, of the 
Europeans, quite proverbial ; and when any stran- 
ger came into their houses to eat with them, they 
would say jocosely, '^ No I we shall treat you after 
the manner of the Papalangis ; go home, and eat 
what you have got, and we shall eat what we have 
gotl" 

Mr Mariner and his companions, about five in 
number, (for the others were dispersed upon dif- 
ferent islands), began now to be heartily tired 
of their new life, and requested the king to give 
them a large canoe, that they might rig it as a 
sloop, and, with his permission, endeavour to make 
Norfolk Island on their way to New Holland; 
but this he refused, under pretext that the canoe 
would be too weak to stand the sea. On farther 
solicitation, however, he gave them leave to build 
a vessel for the express purpose ; but, in the pnK 
gress of the work, happening unfortunately to 
notch one of their axes, he refused any longer the 
use of them. Thus cut off from all present hopea 
af escape, it became more than ever necessary to 
conform their minds to the manners and customs 
of the people whom they were among ; but, in a 
short time, the ever-changing events of war served 
to create a degree of activity in the mind, de- 
structive of disagreeable reflections and fruitless 
regrets. 

As we are now about to enter upon a new 

scene of things, in which the political interests of 

these islands are particularly concerned, it becomes 

necessary to afford a general view of their history, 

-^via the time of Captain Cook ; and, particulBr^" 

>&r gAe twelve or Gheen years previous U> 



ms TONGA ISLANDS. Y7 

Mviiner's arriyal there, with a riew to undentand 
perfectly the state of things as he found it. 

At the time when Captain Cook was at these 
islands, the habits of war were little known to tha 
natives. The only quarrels m which they had at 
that time been engaged w^e among the inhabitants 
of the Fiji islands, about 120 leagues to the west* 
ward ; for, having been in the habit of visiting 
them for sandal wood, &c. they occasionally as- 
sisted one or other of the warlike parties against 
the enemy. The bows and arrows which, before 
that period, had been in use among the people of 
Tonga were of a. weaker kind, and fitted rather 
for sport than war, — for the purpose of shooting 
rats, birds, &c From the fierce and warlike peo- 
ple of those islands, however, they speedily learn- 
ed to construct bows and arrows of a mudh more 
martial and formidable nature ; and soon became 
acquainted witli a better form of the spear, and a 
superior method of holding and throwing that 
missile weapon. They also imitated them by de- 
grees in the practice of paintii^ their faces, and 
the use of a peculiar dress in time of war, giving 
a fierce appearance, calculated to strike terror into 
the minds of their enemies. These martial inno- 
vations were in their progress at the time of Cap- 
tain Cook's arrival, but not in general practice ; 
for, having few or no ^eivil dissoosions among 
themselves, the knowledge of these things was 
confined principally to certain young chiefs and 
their adherents, who had been at the Fiji islands. 
Captain Cook describes some evolutions prac- 
tised by the natives as being forms of war, and, 
indeed, they have that appcai«acfe\ \sv>X *^^>i 
iure to be considered rather as g|MDftft^ ^bA ^^sv^^^^ 



78 TRANBACTIOKS AT 

wMdi the Tonga people had leftmed fttmi tfiir 
island of Ntthft. None of the oldest natiyes 
oonld give any account of their first discoyery 
of the Ft|i islands, btit say they went to those 
Matids hefbre the Fiji people came to them; 
pisrfaaps theh* canoes were drifted there by strong 
elMterly winds. — Since Captain's Cook's time, a 
certain chief at the island of Tonga, * where all 
the principal chiefs at that time resided, and whose 
name was Tool Hala Fatai, having by former yisits 
contracted the warlike habits of the Fiji islanders, 
became tired of the peaceful and idle life he led at 
home, and was therefore determined to repair 
again to those islands, in company with a number 
of young men of the same unquiet disposition. They 
were pleased with the Fiji maxim, Uiat war and 
strife were the noble employments of men, and 
ease and pleasure worthy to be courted only by 
the weak and effeminate. Tool Hala Fatai ac- 
cordingly set sail with his followers, about 250 in 
number, in three large canoes, for the island of 
Laemba ; not to make an attack upon the place, 
but to join one party or the other, and rob, plun^ 
der, procure canoes, kill ^e natives, and in short 
to do any thing that was, accoi*ding to their no« 
tions, active, noble, and glorious. To give an in- 
stance of the spirit of these young men, while yet 
at the island of Tcmga, they on one occasion, dur- 
ing the night, undermined a storehouse of yams, 
cloth, -mats, &c. and working their way up into 

* It must be observed that Tonga is the name of one of 

the largest of this cluster of islands, and that it gives name 

to all these islands taken collectively, as a capital town 

aometimea gives name to a country ; and that it must be 

recBlvedin this latter sense wherever the words '* \a\a 

^^ a/v not used before it 



THB TONGA ISLANDS* 

tbe placay emptied it of e^ery thing it containe 
not that they wanted these things, for they were \ 
independent chiefs, but thus they acted solely f 
their amusement. They had previously taken a 
oath, by their respective tutelar gods and thai 
fiuhers, not to betray one another under penalty 
of death ; and if on these occasions they mei 
with a stranger, who would not readily enter into 
4heir views, they put it but of his power to dis- 
cover them, by despatching him without fieuther 
ceremony. 

This chief and his companions being arrived «t 
the fiji islands, employed themselves in the way 
suitable to their inclinations ; sometimes joining 
4>ne party, sometimes another, as caprice, or the 
hopes of plunder, led them ; and as many of these 
islands were not only at war with each other, 
but also had civil dissentions among themselves, 
■two or three garrisons on one island being in a 
state of warfare, the new comers found a choice 
4j£ employment already prepared for them. 

They remained here about two years and a 

half, towards the. end of which period they were 

not contented with joining the wars of others, 

mt entered into one of their own, for the greater 

icquirement of plunder ; and their superior bra- 

ery rendered them very suceessfuL Tired at 

tngth with their long absence from home, they 

ttumed to Tonga ; leaving their own canoes b^ 

nd them, and coming away in the better formed 

es of the Fiji islands. In their passage howevo: 

)y experienced a heavy gale, during which one 

tiie canoes, with some of the choicest men, was 

m Oil the arrival of the T^TumidLeT ^X>^^>itei^^ 



80 TRANSACTIONS AT ' 

of Tongft, they found the place in a state of insnr^ 
rectioil ; the cause and circmnstanees of which are 
as foUow : — 

Long before the period of Tooi Hala Fatai's 
expedition, ToogOo Ahoo had sncceeded to the 
throne t hnt had held die reina of goTomment not 
with the complete satiaftMStioB of his people : far 
from it. He is reported to have been a man of A 
yindictiye and cruel torn of mind, taking every 
opportunity to exert his authority ; and frequently 
in a manner not only cmel, but wanton ; as an in^ 
stance of which, he on one occasion gave orders, 
(which WUre imtaitly obeyed), that twelve of his 
cooks, who Were always hi waiting at his public 
ca'emony of drinkiiig cata, should undergo die 
amputation of their left arms, merely to distinguish 
them from other men, and for the vanity of ren- 
dering himself singular by this extraordinary ex- 
ercise tif hisi authority. This and many other 
acts of cruelty laid the gronndwoik for an insuT'- 
rection, and a* complete revolution in the afiairs of 
Tonga. 

Tbob6 Nuh% a great diief, and brother of 
Hnow^ conceived himself to be exceedingly op- 
pressed by the tyranny of Toogoo Ahoo ; till at 
length he determined to be free, or to die in the 
attempt. With this view he often conversed with 
Finow, (at that time tributary chief of the Hapat 
islands), sounding his opinion, and spurring him cm. 
to the same resolution ; with the declaration, that 
if he would not assist him, he would manage the 
whole conspiracy himself. Led on partly by these 
petaoMMTMf hnt principally by his own private 
^^W8, Finow entered into a \eag^e V\xXi vwA^ 
^uha. One evening, attended \^y i^^ibctX q^ ^^w 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 81 

usual followers, these two waited on Toogoo Ahoo, 
as was now and then cnstomary, to pay their re* 
spects to hiniy by presents of cava root, gnatoOi * 
a pig, and several baskets of yams ; they then re- 
tired. This served as a plausible reason for their 
being that ni^t in the neighbourhood of the king's 
residence. About midnight they again r^paiivd 
to his house with their followers, whom they plac- 
ed around it as watchful guards, ready to despatck 
all who might attempt to esci^ from the place. 
Of these Finow took the command, whilst Toobo 
Nuha entered, armed with his aze^ and burning 
with desire of revenge. As he passed along, on 
either hand lay the wives and favourite mistressai 
of the king, the matchless beauties of Tonga, per- 
fumed with the aroma of sandal wood, and their 
necks strung with wreaths of the freshest flowers. 
The sanguinary chief could have wept over their 
fiate, but the success of his enterprise was at stake, 
and the opportunity was not to be lost. He 
sought the mat of his destined victim, where he 
lay buried in the profioundest sleep. He stood 
over him for a short moment, but willing that he 
shoaki know from whom he received his deaths 
lie struck liim with his hand upon the face. Too* 
goo Ahoo started up,-*.'' Tis I, Toobo Nulia, that 
strike ! " and a tremendous blow felled him, never 
to rise again. Horror and confusion immediately 
took place. Toob6 Nuha snatched up the late 
king's adopted son (a child of three years old)^ 
whom he was desirous of saving and rushed out 
of the house as the guards of Flnow rushed in, 
when speedy death siloiced the «cx«axcA ^ ^^MonA 

* The material of th«iT wemui^ vgi^«x^ 



82 TRANSACTIONS AT 

who a Kttlc before lay reposed in the arms of 
sleep. • 

The two chiefs and their followers betook them* 
seWes, as quickly as possible, to Hahagi, the* 
liortliem part of the island. Early in the morn- 
ing confnsion and dismay reigned in the island of 
Tonga — men and women ran they knew not whi- 
ther, unknowing which party to join — old men 
were seen making speeches to the people, encou- 
raging them to avenge the death of their chief ^-^ 
the numerous relations and friends of the deceased 
king ran about beating their breasts and weeping : 
— -shells were heard blowing in every quarter, a» 
the signals of war and disturbance. 

Finow and Toob6 Nuba, in the course of a few 
hours, however, assembled together a considerable 
number of adherents, with whom, after having 
launched their canoes in case their retreat from 
the island should be neeessary, they proceeded to 
Hihifo, the place where the f How was killed. 
On their arrival, their first concern was to destroy 
the enemy's canoes, in which they succeeded, after 
some opposition. They next directed tJieir march 
to the place where the loyalists were assembled, 
about three quarters of a mile distant from Hihifo, 
and a general battle took place, which lasted till 
night, with great slaughter on both sides. Finow's 
party, however, was at length repulsed, and forc- 
ed to fly back to Habagi, where it remained till 
the evening of the ensuing day, when an event 

• The sacrifice of these women, however barbarousi was 

strictly according to the general Tonga custom in each 

cases; where not only the individual enemy is destroyed* 

ifut also all who belong to him, ci^cti VAa wamet^ that his 

'"W?^^^ weakened and distreMed m n»idi «* ^owAlC^t. 
T -Ktag:. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 8S 

}iappened which reinforced its slarengll], and gave 
the allied chiefs and tlieir followers fresh spirits 
for the combat. Tliis was tlie arrival of the two 
canoes with Tool Hala Fatai^ and his bold adven- 
turers from the Fiji islands. This chief and his 
warlike companions, ever ready to enter into a new 
contest, immediately joined Finow, and swore al- 
legiance to his cause. The very evening of their 
landing, however, their leader, Tool Hala Fatai, 
felt himself much indisposed ; and as his dis- 
order hourly increased, he was seized with the 
apprehension that it was mortal. With this idea 
strongly impressed upon his mind, he proposed 
that they should sally forth as early as possible 
the ensuing morning, to meet the enemy while he 
had any strength remaining, that by this means 
he might escape the bed of sickness, and die in the 
field of battle. Scarcely had the sun risen, when 
the three chiefs and their resolute warriors were 
already on their march towards Hihifo * Their 
equally determined opponents met them about 
half way. Both paused, as if instinctively, at the 
same moment. They summoned up their spirits 
to endure a mighty and bloody conflict. Liberty 
on the one side, loyalty on the other, fired them 
with the desire of performing matchless achieve- 
ments. The active and impetuous mind of Tool 
Hala Fatal could brook no delay. Anxious to 
set the glorious example of an heroic spirit, 

* The ciitnunstances, as here described, are strictly as 
related by the natives. The language in which it is ex- 
pressed, is, according to IVIr Mariner's judernent, suitable 
with the poetic descnptions which he heard of it. From 
the *' Tnussactions of the Missionary SodeX.'^r \X.^Y^^'«x^ 
that the battle was fought on the "H^Hel q1 ^^^ Yl^^. 

VOL* I, Q '^ 



84 TRANSACTIONS AT 

he and hk Fiji wRirion began the battle by 
roshing forward on a party of the enemy. Im- 
mediately the contest became general, widi un« 
oenqnendble determination on both sides. Too- 
b6 Nnha, widi a reaiatlesB arm, performed pro- 
digies of ▼alear. He raised his ponderous clnb 
only to give death ins victim ; and as he moved 
forward, he strode over the bodies of faHen diiels. 
In anol^ part, Tooi Hala Fatai moved onward 
in the path of victory; and though he felt his 
strenglii gmdnally decreasing, the terror of his 
iery eye paralyzed die arms of his enemies. At 
length, featfal kst too speedy a conqnest might 
dspnve him of die oppMtuoity of dying a war- 
rior a death, he mahed with an exulting spirit intp 
the thickest of the battle, and fell, pierced wifli 
speavB, beneath the clubs of his adversaries. In 
the mean while, Finow was not an idle looker on. 
He fonght with equal courage, but with a more 
steady and lass presumptuous bravery. The great* 
est of his enemies fell beneath the weight of his 
clab ; and as his eye sated itself with the number 
of his opponents whom death had stretched before 
him, his ambitioas mind seemed already to enjoy 
the sweets and power of monardiy. The battle 
lasted for nearly three hours, when, cbiefly by the 
extraordinary exertions of Toob6 Nuba, who, it is 
reported, slew forty with his own hand — the ene- 
my became panic-struck, and fled in all directions. 

Although the victory was so decisively in flavour 

of Finow, it cost him the lives of many of his 

bravest men, and so far lessened his numerical 

strength, as to render it prudent not to pursue the 

enemy, A£ter a consultation with his ally, it was 

agreed an to proceed immediateV^ to ^^ 1^%^ 



THE TOMOA I»LAMDS. 85 

Isiamk and Vavaoo, and look to their own poa- 
aesaions, rather than run the risk of loehig them 
md. their Uvea in a dangeroua war at the island of 
ToDga^ where the partisans of th^ late* How were 
particularly strong. They accordingly set sail for 
the Hi^ Islandsy and landed at the nearest of 
thMD, Namooca, after a slight resistance from a 
few of the adherents of Toogoo Aheo. They 
aoon gained entire possession of Naniooca» and 
thenee eactended their arms to the neighbouring 
idands, meetiBg with little oppositi<M), and f^afhw- 
iag additional strmigth, till they aniyed at the 
ialand of Haano^ where a large body of the enemy 
were assembled, and in waiting raidy to enga^a 
^era. Here they had an obertdnate but deeittye 
battle, which terminated in. fayoar of Finow. Thtia 
was the conquest of all the Hapai islands secured, 
and oi which Finow waa acknowledged king* la 
thia haCtle a number of chiefe and matabooles (mi- 
nisters and attendants of chiefe) wore taken prir 
aonffirs, all of whom, having been in the immediate 
aeryke of tJie lata king, were, by the orde» of 
fmow, put to death in yaiious ways. Some were 
aant on board old and useless canoes, which were 
then acuttled, and immediately sunk ; others were 
taken three or four leagues out to sea, and being 
put in old leaky ones, and tied hand and foot, were 
left gradually to meet their fate. Those against 
whon Ebiow entertained the greatest inyeteracy 
w»e taken to the island of Lc^»ga, and there 
tied naked to stdces driyen in the ground, or to 
the trunks of trees, and left to stanre to death. 
Notwithstanding their exposure to the t«^%V««&» 
of the sun, and to every indignity, s«vcwV ol^^jst 
bore their torments with the greate^X ioT^xVx^^-^^^^!^ 



86 TRANSACTIONS AT 

gering till tlie eighth day, while others of weaker 
constitntionfl died in three or four days. Ever 
since that time, the natives of the place snpersti- 
tiously helieve that they c^n hear their groaDs fre- 
quently during the night. But this may be occap 
sioned by the roaring of the surf at a distance, or 
of the sea in subterraneous caverns, which, work- 
ing upon the imagination, to a certain extent may 
resemble the groans of dying people. * 

Finow, and his ally Toobo Nuha, after pnbH« 
rejoicings at Haano, embarked for Vavaoo, where 
they were allowed to land without opposition. The 
pe(^le of this island, however, had heard of the 
assassination of Toogoo Ahoo by a canoe from the 
Hapai Islands, and were determined to resist the 
claims of Finow, not by an open war, but in a 
mode much more harassing and tedious ; and he 
accordingly found the reduction of Vavaoo ex- 
ceedingly troublesome and dangerous. The ene- 
my, always avoiding a general engagement, fre- 
quently molested him with sudden and violent as- 
saults, either under cover of the darkness of the 
night, or during the day from their hiding-places ; 
which mode of warfere so exasperated Finow, 
who was not on such occasions of the mildest tem- 
per, he gave ordei*8 that all prisoners who were 
chiefs should be resei*ved for future and exemplary 
punishment. The contest lasted about fourteen or 
fifteen days, during which time the two chiefs se- 
parated, and scoured the island all over, conquer- 
ing wherever they met with opposition. At length 

* The natives do not regard thi« as any thing awiiil, 
or as a memeu£o of the crime of their chief, hut as a 
matter of curiosity, witliout altlemp\\tv\^ to iMn^ti ^a^ 
rcuson for it. 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 87 

Voonm, Uk efaief of Varaoo, having fled to Htnoa 
(the Navigator 8 Islands) with a canoe full of otbnr 
chiefe, Finow found himself master of the wfaoid 
place, and was declared king, giving np the gcn- 
yotiment of it to Toob6 Ndba, as a sort of vice- 
rojr, to pay him an annual tribute. All alKuFS 
being settled at Vavaoo, Finow returned to the 
Hiq>ai Islands, to meditate future attempts upon 
the island of Tonga. 

In the mean tone, affiiirs went on very badly at 
Toi^fa. ToogoD Ahoo left neither son nor brother 
to succeed him ; bat he had several distant rela« 
tions, each of whom put in claims for the sove- 
reignty. A violent civil contention ensued, aad 
the island was soon divided into several petty 
states. In the course of a little time, each party 
liml built a fort for itself, so that there were at 
least twelve or thirteen different garrisoned places 
upon the island. Thus, was the Island of Tonga, 
to which war had hitherto been a stranger, torn 
by civil strife, and at times given up a prey to fa* 
mine, a situation wmve, perhaps, than that under 
the tyranny of Toogoo Ahoo. Besides their do* 
meatic troubles, every year they were disturbed by 
attacks from Finow, who made it his annual cus- 
tom to' make a descent upon mie or other of their 
fortresses, and sometimes upon several of them in 
the same season ; but they were all so well forti- 
fied and entrenched, that their enemy, however 
powerful, consisting of Hapai people, under the 
command of Finow, and the Yavaoo people, un- 
der that of Toob6 Nuba, had never succeeded, up 
to the time of Mr Marbier a axm«\> m Xa^'^sc^ ^"t 
destiv/ing a single fort ; tVtat la V> va?)^ i^nfov^'^Dft 
tpace of seven or eight years. 

G 2 



88 TRANSACTIONS AT 

This piece of history Mr Mariner heard Dot 
only from Finow, but from Toobo Nuha, Tooi- 
tODga, and a number of other chiefs, as also, though 
in detached portions, from several of the inhabi- 
tants of the Island of Tonga ; and he found an uni*' 
form consistency in all their accounts. It vAd. 
therefore appear, that, at the time of Captain 
Cook's visit, the whole of Tonga (that is to say, 
the Island of Tonga, the Hapai Islands, and Va- 
vaoo) was under the sole dominion of Toogoo 
Ahoo, whose seat of government was on the Island 
of Tonga, and who received tributes from Finow, 
chief of the ■ Hapai Islands, and from Yoona, * 
chief of Vavaoo. That, at the time of Mr Mari- 
ner s first arrival, the Island of Tonga was, and had 
been for several years, divided into various petty 
states,, all at war with one another, whilst Finow 
was king of the Hapai Islands and Vavaoo, and 
Toobo Nuha only tributary chief of the latter place* 
Mr Mariner, and those of his companions who 
were with him at the Island of Lefooga, (four in 
number), now received orders from the king to 
prepare for the annual attack upon the Island of 
Tonga, and to get ready four twelve-pound carro* 
nades. They immediately set to work, to mount 
them upon new carriages with high wheels, made 
by the native caipenters imder their directions ; 
which being done, Finow expressed his opinion, 
that the gun was an instrument not well fitted for 
their mode of warfare, which consisted in sudden 
attacks and retreats, according to circumstanceSp 
rather than in a steady engagement. He very 

* Voona, it is related^ did not pay his tributes regular- 
-(r^ Zre ought to have done, but, beiiig «l ^tovrariuV c\ua€^ 
rnndhiB possessions so far from the acat oi fyaweTtiTCMeDX^ 
' *^SooAIioo b»d neyer ventured to take bo«id\& TQBWwa«^^ 



THE TONGA ISLAVD8. 89 

nidily entered into an acknowledgment of the ad- 
vantages of a steady contest, bnt was apprehensive 
that faoB men would not easily be brought to stand 
it. Mr Mariner and his companions, however, 
promised that they and their countrymen (who 
were dispersed upon other islands), would remain 
in the front of the battle with their four guns, pro- 
vided the Tonga people would agree to stand feust 
and support them. The king assented to this on 
the part of bis men, and a few days afterward?, 
when he reviewed them, he signified his wishes, 
and they swore to fulfil their duty. In the mean 
time the Englishmen employed themselves in col- 
lecting the shot which the natives had brought fix>m 
<m board, but which they had thrown aside, not 
being able to shape them for any common purpose* 
Every preparation was also making by the natives 
for the approaching war. They repaued the sails 
of their canoes, collected their arrows, spears, and 
dubs ; and the women employed themselves in 
paring up bales of gnatoo * mats, &c. 

One day, whilst these preparations were going 
forward, the king asked Mr Mariner whether he 
had a mathear living ; and upon his replying in the 
affirmative, he appeared much grieved that he 
ahoald be separated so £u* from her. It is a cus- 
tom in the Tonga islands for men (and sometimes 
women) to adopt or dioose a foster-mother, even 
though they have their own natural mother living, 
with a view of being better provided with all ne- 
oeasaries and conveniences, as doth, oil, food, &c. 
On this occasion the king appointed erne of lua^ 
wivesy Mafi Habe, to be Mx M»niiC!^% ^<qk^\»^ 
maiher, telling hiniy that if Hbsx^ '^^& vss^^ \>[s^n%\iek 

^ Cr/Mtoo^A sort of doth made f)£ tb& bvdk ^ ^Qub ^>^ 
fl0te pmpet malbeny tree. 



90 TRANSACTIONS AT 

waated to make his Mtnation nicnre comfortable^ hd 
need onljr apply to Mafi Habe, and as she was a 
woman of consequence, it was in her power to pfo- 
cime him any thing that in reason he might feqniror 
This woman had afterwaitb as mtich real lestoen 
and parental affection for him as she cotikl possibly 
have for het own son. 

At ^is time ^re fired in the island of Lefoo* 
ga a female, who for many years had been afflict^ 
ed with insanity. She hod become insane in con« 
sequence of excesstTO grief, partly occasioned by 
dM destik of a near reladon, but principally by her 
child hairing been taken from her to be strangted 
as an offering to the gods, for the recoyery of his 
sick father. * As this poor woman was consider- 
ed of no use to society, Finow was desirous that 
she should be pnt out of the way ; and as he was 
also amnons again to witness the ekecation of a 
mnsket ball, he one day desired Mr Mariner to 
shoot her. The latter entreated to be eitcnsed 
from this ungrateful task, aJssurihg the king that 
he was perfectly willing to risk his life in his ser- 
vice against his enemies ; bat that it was quite 
contraiy to the sentiment ci the religion in which 
he had been brought up, and to the laws of his 
country, to desttoy an innocent fellow-creature in 
cold blood. FInow immediately admitted the ex- 
cuse, without being at all ofifended, and the unfor* 
tunate woman for that time escaped. A few days 
afterwards, however, as she was walking about 
upon the beach, Finow ordered a Sandwich isl- 
ander \Hio was at hand with his musket to shoot 
^Aen With ready acquiescence, he leveled his 

* This reJi^gms rite will b« dwcnbtd la tKvcftwi ^%«ft. 



TRft TONGA ISLANfiifiU M 

piece and ahot her dead upon the spot. Mr Ma- 
riner was at a little distance, and saw the fact 
without haring it in his power to prevent it. She 
had jnst been in the act of picking up a shell or 
something, as the shot struck her; when she 
ficreamed out, and springing two or three feet 
from the ground, fell into the sea. The people in 
general were rather glad that she was dead, as she 
used to break in upon religious ceremonies, and on 
other occasions, when they were drinking cava, 
and dance about to the annoyance of every body, 
sometimes with scarcely any clothes on, which is 
considered very indecent and disrespectful. 

All things being now prepared for the invasion 
of Tonga, the gods invoked, and Finow assured 
of success, * orders were sent to all the Hapai 
islands to make Namooca the place of general 
rendezvous. The large canoes of Lefooga, about 
fourteen in number, were then launched, which, 
'with Toobo Nuha's fleet from Vavaoo, made toge- 
ther about fifty sail. These fifty sail, under die 
direction of Finow, four of the largest having each 
a carronade on board, proceeded towards the ap- 
pointed place ; but on account of contrary winds 
were obUged to put into Wiha. Here Finow took 
an opportunity to review his men, most of them be* 
ing painted and drest after the warlike manner of 
the Fiji islands. They paraded up and down for 
some time, brandishing their clubs and spears, and 
exhibiting a sort of sham fight. Finow sat with 
several other chiefs in the house on the nudoL ^ 

• The ceremony of invocation, and the supposed ins^w> 
ration of the priests, will be described Vi«i«8ixss« 

f The malai is a grass-plat, about \hTefe«kC\«^m«v\»*-fc 
frith a house on it, and is uaed fat Nttooua \>>Aii2Lt ^>J3t- 



92 TRANSACTIONS AT 

£flM^ murrior of note nm singly oloee up to FinoWy 
and striking his club violently on de ground) 
cried oat^ *< tlus is the club for ^^y " men- 
tioning the name of some iadividual enemy whom 
ke meant pertieularly to sieek out and engage* 
Others running up in the same way, exdaAmedi 
<< Fear not, Finow ; no sooner shall we land at 
Tonga, than here is tLe dub with which I will 
kill any cme who dares to oppose us. " Finow 
and the chiefs thanked them for their sentiments 
of love and loyalty, and tb^i he addressed them 
in a speech to the following purpose : << Be bra^e 
in battle ; foar not death. It is far better to die 
m war, than to^ lire to be assassinated at home, or 
to perish by a lingering disease* ** 

After remaining a day and a n%ht st this island^ 
they agwn put to sea with the ad^tional force of 
six canoes, and made sail for Namooca, where 
they arrived in a few hours. Here they had tmch- 
ther review like the former ; remaining two days^ 
then sailed with all the rest of the forces of the 
confederate islands, amounting to about one hiuip 
dred and seventy canoes, direct for the island of 
Tonga. Owing to the calmness of the Weather, 
they did not reach their destination the same 
evening in sufficient time to land, but went en 
shore at a small island close by, called Pangum^ 
too, where they passed the night. 

Before morning, several presents were brought 
to Finow and his chiefs, by the people living at a 
consecrated place on the island of Tonga, called 
Mafanga. Mafanga is a piece of groimd about 

poses, as in the present instance. There are generally 
^hur or £re of tbem on each island. A.% N w««o v% cem- 
P^nUrelxm Imrgo island, it hw €«mewi m ft&RWu 



THB TOWGA IBLANBS. ^^ 

hali a mile tquafe, situated en the weetera part of 
the island. In this spot are the graves where the 
greatest chi^ from time immemorial, have been 
buried ; and the place is therefore considered sa- 
cred* It would he a sa^^ege to fight here, and 
nobody can be prevented from landing. If the 
most inveterate enemies meet upon this ground, 
they must look upon each otlier as friends, under 
penalty of the displeasure of the gods, and, conse- 
quently, an untimely death, or some great misfor- 
tune. There are several of these consecrated 
places on different islands. 

' The following morning, Know, with several of 
his chiefs and matahooles, landed at Mafanga, and 
immediately proceeded to his fother's grave (iVfr 
Mbviner being idso with them), to perform the 
ceremony of Toogi. All who went for this pur- 
pose put oil mats instead of their usual dress, and 
wreaths made of the leaves of the ifi tree round 
their necks, signi£k;ant of respect and humility. 
They eat down cross-legged before the grave — 
Fiiiow, as well as tlie rest, beating their cheeks 
with theii* fists for about half a minute, without 
speaking a word. One of the principal mata- 
hooles Uien addressed the spirit of Finow's fieither 
to the following purpose : " Behold the man (mean- 
ing Hnow) who has come to Tonga to fight his 
eneniies : be pleased with him, and grant him thy 
protection ; he conses to battle, hoping he is not 
doing wrong. He has always held Tooitonga * in 
the highest respect, and has attended with exact- 
ness to all religious ceremonies. '* One of the at- 
tendants then went to Finow, and r^«\N^^Sx^\Bk 

* Tom'ton^a is Bgreti chi«f, au^p^OAtti \o>Ek« (^sswa^q^ik^ 
^m a If aid. 



94 TRANSACTIONS AT 

him a piece of cava root, which he laid down on 
the raised mount before the Fytoka (burying- 
place). Several otherg, who had pieces of cava 
root in their bosoms, went up to the grave in like 
manner, and deposited them. The ceremony be- 
ing thus finished, Finow and his friends returned 
to the beach, where a large root of cava was brought 
to them as a present, by the chief of the conse- 
crated place, on which they r^aled. 

During this time, the greater part of the forces 
in the canoes employed themselves in preparing 
for battle, again painting their bodies and faces 
after various fanciful forms. The enemy on shore 
were also in a state of preparation. They shouted 
the war-whoop, and ran up and down the beach 
with furious gestures, splashing up the water with 
their clubs, brandishing them in the air, flourish- 
ing their spearsy and bidding bold defiance to their 
invaders. 

Finow and his attendants having returned on 
board, the whole fleet proceeded to a neighbour- 
ing fortress called Nioocalofa, the strongest, though 
not the largest, in the whole island. As it will 
be proper to understand the usual form and con- 
struction of these Tonga fortresses, we shall give a 
general description of them, taking that of Nioo- 
calofa as a- model for the others. 

The foi-tress of Nioocalofa is situated oh the 
western coast of the island, about one hundred 
yards distant from the water's edge, occupying 
about four or five acres of ground. It consists, in 
the first place, of a strong wall or fencing of reeds, 
something like wicker-work, supported on the in- 
aide by upright posts, from six to nine inches in 
^^'B'aeter, and situated a foot aad % \»^ ^Xasx 



THK TOKCA I^ANDS. 95 

ftom each odier ; . to which the reedwork is firmly 
lashed hy tough sinnet, made of the husk of the 
cocoa-nut. This fencing is ahout nine feet in 
height, the post rising about a foot higher. It has 
four large entrances, as well as several small ones^ 
secured on the inside by horizontal sliding pieces, 
made of the wood of the cocoa-nut tree. Over 
each door, as well as at other places, are erected 
platforms even yrith the top of the fencing, sup- 
ported chiefly on the inside, but projecting forward 
to the extent of two or three feet. These plat- 
forms are about nine feet square, and situated fif- 
teen yards distant from each other; and as they 
are intended for the men to stand on, to shoot ar« 
rows, or throw down large stones, they are also 
defended in front, and half way on each side, by 
a reed-work six feet high, with an opening in 
front, and others on either hand, for the greater 
convenience of throwing spears, &c. The lower 
fencing has also openings for a similar purpose. 
On the outside is a ditch of neaily twelve feet 
deep, and as much broad ; which, at a little dis- 
stance, is encompassed by another fencing similar 
,to the first, with platforms, &c. on the outside of 
.which there is a second ditch. The earth dug out 
of these ditches forms a bank on each side, serving 
to deepen them. Opposite each large doorway, 
there is no ditch dug. The inner and outer fenc- 
ings are ornamented profusely with white shells. 
Some of these fortifications are square, others 
round, like that of Nioocalofieu 

VOL. U H 



96 TRA>^9ACTX0KS AT 



CHAPTER IV. 

FiNow being arrived with the whole of his fleet 
off NioocaloSb, and having with him, be^ee Mr^ 
Manlier, ifteen odier En^iahtnen, eight of whom 
were armed with mnsikets, he proo^sded to land 
his troops under cover of a fire of musketry, which 
speedily drove almost all the enemy who had sa^ 
lied forth back into the garrison. The first fire 
killed three, and wounded several ; and a repetl* 
tion of it threw them into such disma;^, that in 
^ve minutes only forty of the bravest rMaained to 
molest them ; and these began to retij^e, as the 
forces of Finow increased on the beach. In the 
mean while, the carronades were dismounted froi^ 
their carriages, slung on poles, and conveyed over 
^ shallow reef to the shore. The whole army he^ 
ing landed, and the guns again mounted, the latter 
were drawn up before the garrison, and a regular 
fire was commenced. Finow took his station <« 
the reef, seated in an English chair, (from Mhe 
Port au Prince), for his chiefs w6uld not allow 
him to expose his person on shorcf. The Bre of 
the carronades was kept up for about an hour ; in 
tAe mean w/iiie, as it did not appear to do all the 
mischief to the exterior of tihe fotltcBS, owm.% Xft 
tAe yielding nature of ito m^itenaXft, xJi^^X xWVJoisi^ 



t 
tHB TONGA tSLANDft^ 97 

ttpected^ he sent for Mr Mariner^ and ttipremtd 
hiB disappointment. The latter replied, that no 
4loiibt there was misdiief enou^ <hme on the in* 
aide of the fml;, whererer there were reaisting 
liodiea, such as canoes, the poets and beams of 
honaes, &c. ; and that it was evident die besieged 
Jbad no reason to think lightly of the effect of the 
artillery^ Seeing that they had already greatly 
slackened their exertions, not half the number of 
arrows being new discharged from the fort ; ans- 
ing*, in all probability^ from the number of the 
alain> or of those who hs^l fled up into the conn* 
try. It was now resolved to set fire to the place; 
for which purpose a number of Unhches were pre- 
pared and lighted, and an attack made upon the 
outer fencing* It was found, however, but weakly 
defended, and was soon taken ; for the door-posta 
beiog shot away, an easy entrance was obtelned. 
A eonsidel^ble portion of the inner fencing was 
now found undefended, and towards 1^ place a 
party rushed with lighted torches, whilst the ene* 
my were kept in play elsewhere. The conflagra- 
tion spread rapidly on every side ; and, as the be* 
neged endeavoured to mid^ their escape, their 
bniina were knocked out by a party of the be- 
siegers, stationed at the back of the fort for the 
purpose* During this time, the guns kept up a 
regular fire with blank cartridges, merely to inti-» 
midate the enemy. The conquerors, club in hand, 
ent»^ the place in several quarters, and slew all 
^y met — men, women, and children. The scene 
Was truly horrible. The war-hoop shouted by the 
combatants, the heart-rending «cx««lTD3& qH "^^ife ^^^ 
ioen md Mldren^ the grottos oi liV\« ^isvoA^^^ ^^ 
Dumbet'of the dead^ and tke tetocofc^a <A ^^ ^'^^ 



96 TRANSACTIONS AT 

flagratkniy formed a picture almost too dfetractiog 
and awful for the mind to c<mtemplate. Some, 
with a kind of sullen and stupid resignation, of- 
fered no resistance, but waited for the hand of &te 
to despatch them, no matter in what mode ; others^ 
already lying on the ground wounded, were stndc 
with spears, and beaten about with clubs by boys, 
who followed the expedition to be trained to the 
horrors of war, and who delighted in the oppor- 
tunity of gratifying their ferocious and cruel dis- 
position. £y^ house that was not on fire was 
plundered of its contents, and ^e conqnerore made 
a considerable booty. * . 

In a few honis, the fortress of Nioocalofa, which 
had obstinately and bravely defended every attack 
for eleven years or more, was thus completely de« 
etroyed. When Finow arrived upon the placet 
and saw several canoes, which had been hauled up 
in the garrison, shattered to pieces by the sho^ 
and discovered a number of 1^ and arms lying 
around, and about three bundled and fifty dead 
bodies, he expressed his wonder and astonishment 
at the dreadful effect of the guns. He then thanked 
his men for their bravery, and Mr Mariner and 
his companions in particular, for the great assist* 
ence rendered by them. 

A few of the enemy, who had escaped the ge- 

• In this affair, one of Finow's men, a native of Fiji, 

had made himself a sort of breastplate of an earthenware 

fish-strainer, such as is laid in the bottom of dishes when 

fish is brought to table, which he had procured irom the 

Port au Prince. But unluckily it happened, that an wT' 

row pierced him directly through the^ole which is com- 

monly in the middle of such strainers. The wound laid 

Jilai up eight months, and he never a{:ten7&xd%, Va Mt Mfl» 

^'^^'m time, wan able to hold b^m&eU ^edec^^ «y^^ 



THB irONOA IBLAKOiS. 99 

!bienl ekngftter, were tak^i prwonerBy Khd gave a 
■ciiriouB description of the effect of the guns. They 
declared, that, when a ball entered a house, it did 
not proceed straight forward, but went all round 
the place, as if seeking for men to kill ; it then 
passed out of the house and entered another, still 
in search of food for its vengeance, and so on to a 
third, &c«; sometimes it would strike the comer 
post of a house, and bring it all down together. 
The chiefs, seeing this dreadful mischief going for- 
ward, rendered stiU more tremendous by their 
own imaginations, sat in consultation, upon one of 
the larg^ canoes just mentioned, and came to a 
determination to rush out upon the white men, 
and take possession of the guns. This wae scarce- 
ly resolved upon, when a shot struck the canoe on 
which they were sitting, and shattered it to pieces, 
which so damped their courage, ^lat they ran for 
•aecarity to one of the inner houses of the garri- 
■on, where their disU*ess was mudi increased, by 
finding their men deserting the place, and running 
mp into the country. 

The king, having finished this affiur, began to 
think of returning to Pangaimotoo. Mr Marinsr, 
indeed, endeavoured to persuade him to follow up 
the advantages of his victory, by immediately lay- 
ing siege to another fortress, which, no doulH, 
would soon have fiedlen into their hands ; and the 
ndiole island being strudc with dismay, would 
readily have submitted to his government. But, 
it seems, Finow was noi yet the complete warrior. 

Pangaimotoo is not more than three ffaarters of 
m mile distant from the islaxid cA Tow^ ^^^^ks^^^ 
iSwD i$ only hy a long narrow x^ftl. ^ %^'5>Kfe^^ 

11 ^ . . ' 



100 TRAMSACTIONB AT 

they landed, tbey sat dovnt to eat, not having token 
any refreshment since morning, with the excep- 
tion of some of the men, whose stomachs not heing 
the most delicate, had partaken of some yams and 
plantains which were found roasting along with 
the bodies of the dead in the general confls^ratiou 
at Nioocalofa. 

They remained here several days, during which 
time several canoes were sent to an uninhabit- 
ed part of Tonga for the purpose of procur- 
ing reeds to rebuild ^e fortress of Nioocalofa ; 
which step was taken by ^e admonition of the 
g6ds) consulted on the occasion thnmglT the me- 
dium of the priests : and as the invocation of the 
gods, and inspiration of the priests, are drcnm- 
etances that will often occur in the courae of ihis 
work, it will be well to take the present opportu- 
nity of describing them. 

f The night previous to the consultation of the 
oracle, the chief orders his cooks to kill and pre- 
pare a hog, and to procure a basket of yams, and 
two bunches of ripe plantains. These things he- 
ing got ready, the next morning they are carried 
to the place where the priest is, who is sometimes 
previously apprised of the circumstance, at other 
times not. The chiefs and matabooles then clothe 
themselves in mats, and repair thither. If it be at 
a house, the priest seats himself just within the 
eaves ; * if at a distance, on any convenient spot of 
ground, and the matabooles range themselves on 
either hand, so as to form a circle, or rather an 
ellipsis, leaving a considerable space vacant oppo- 

^ Their bouses are built somewhalVtvfonsL of a sbed* 
aj^n all round, and the <»ves oowB^^ m*i3yi»> titwMitlwK 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 101 

Hte the priest. In this space, at tLe bottom of Uie 
circle, sits the man who prepares the cava, the root 
being previously chewe<I by the cooks, attendants, 
and others, who sit behind him. Behind these 
again sit the chiefs indiscriminately among tlie peo- 
ple, (M>nceiving that such modest demeanour must 
be acceptable to the gods. 

As soon as they are all seated, tlie priest is con- 
sidered as inspired, the god being supposed to ex- 
ist within him from that moment. He remains for 
a considerable time in silence, with his hands 
clasped before him, his eyes cast down, and mo- 
tionlesSk During this time the victuals are being 
shared out, and the cava preparing, and the mata- 
booles begin to consult him. Sometimes he an<> 
Bwers them, at other times not ; in either case he 
remains as formerly. Frequently he will not utter 
a word till the repast is finished, and the cava too, 
When he speaks, he generally begins in a low and 
Tery altered tone of voice, which gradually rises to 
nearly its natural pitch, though sometimes a little a- 
bove it. All that he says is supposed to be the decla- 
ration of the god, and he accordingly speaks in the 
first person as if he were the god. All this is done 
generally without any apparent inward emotion or 
outward agitation ; but on some occasions his coun- 
tenance becomes fierce, and, as it were, inflamed, 
and his whole frame agitated with inward feeling. 
He is seized with an universal trembling ; the per- 
spiration breaks out on his forehead, and his. lips, 
turning black, are convulsed ; at length, tears stait 
in floods from his eyes, his breast heaves with 
great emotion, and his utteiance \& ^^^.^ ^XXv^ssdR^ 
aymptoms gmdually subside. B^lot^ \5tk\^\ws:Qn:^^^«^ 
com^ ODf and after it ia o\et> \m^ ^'^^ssi ^^^ ^ 



102 TRANSACTIONS AT 

mach 88 four hungry men, under other eircmil^ 
stfltnoes, could devour. The fit being now gone 
mS^ he remains for some time cahn, th«n takes up 
a club that is placed by him for the purpoeei tuna 
it over and regards it attentively ; he then looks 
up eamesliy, now to the jight, now to the lef^ 
and so on, for several times. At length he sud- 
denly raises the club, and, after a moment s pause, 
strikes the ground, or the adjacent psort of tfa« 
house, with considerable force. Immediately the 
god leaves him, and he rises up and retires to the 
back of the ring among the people. If the com^' 
pany now wish for any more cava, Fiaow, or the 
greatest chief present, goes aad sits ai the head oC 
the ring. 

It might be supposed that this violent agiitatiom 
on the pait of the priest is merdy an assumed ap- 
pearance for the purpose of popular deception; 
but Mr Mariner has no reason at all to think 
so. There can be littie doubt bat that the 
priest, on such occasions, ohsa summons into ac- 
tion the deepest feeHngs of devodon of which he 
is susceptiUe, and by a voluntary act eposes haf 
mind, as much as pessiUe, to be poworfu^y af- 
fected ; till at length, what began by volilaoii pro- 
ceeds by involuntary effort, and the whole mind 
and body become subjected to the overruling emo^ 
tion. But there is nothing new in all tliis. An- 
cient times, as well as modem, afford numerous 
instances of this nature ; and savage aattons, as 
well as civilised, display ample testimoiiy that &lse 
religions, and false notions of religion, act upon 
some mmd» with sudi extraordieBry iflip«]He% that 
^^^y are miatakeh for ^iMam vut^BnOaxns^ 
it Iwpp^na in, the TdAgfc Wsm^ .^duafc. ^^nss- 



THX TONGA ISLANDS. lOS 

flons, who are Dot priests, are often visited by the 
gods, particularly females, but who are never af- 
fected in the manner above described. They 
are generally low spirited and thoughtful, as if 
some heavy misfortune had befallen them. As 
the symptom increases, they generally shed a 
profusion of tears; and sometimes swoon away 
for a few minutes. The height of the paroxysm 
generally lasts from a quarter to half an hour. 
These are also called fits of inspiration, and are 
firmly beHeved to be visitations from some god 
who accuses the party of neglect of religious 
duty, not by an apparent audible warning, but 
by an inward compunction of conscience. But 
these things are also common enough in all parts 
of the world, at home as well as abroad. Some 
of the natives are such adepts at this sort of mys- 
terious conversation with the divinities, that they 
can bring on a fit of inspiration whenever they 
feel their mind at all so disposed. Mr Manner, 
indeed, did once witness a rare instance of a man 
who was disappointed in this particulai*. Finding 
himself, as he thought, about to be inspired, some 
cafa was brought to him, (as is usual on such oc- 
casions), but, in a little while, he was obliged to 
acknowledge that the god would not visit; at 
which all present were gi'ieatly sui'prised, and the 
cava was taken away again. 

These imaginations, however, have sometimes 
produced very serious consequences. To give an 
instance. On one occasion a certain chief, a very 
handsome young man, became inspired, but did 
not yet know by whom. On a suddeu Uft l<i?^ 
himself exceedingly low-spinled, «iv<\. ^ox^'^ ^\sx- 



104 tRANSACTtONS AT 

Still finding himtielf very ill, he wms takea to dii 
house of a priest, * who told the eack chief that it 
Was a woman, mentiwiing her name, who had 
died two yeara hefore, and was now in Bolotoo, f 
that had inspired hitn ; that she was deeply in lov« 
with him, and wished him to die, (which event 
was to happen in a few days), diat she m^fat 
have him near hw. The chief replied, that ha 
had seen the figure of a female two or three siu>- 
eessive nights in his sleep, and had hegan to sos- 
pect he was inspired by her, though he ooahl 
toot tell who ^e ilras. He died two days after- 
wards. Mr Maiik^ visited him three #r four 
times, at the house of the jMriest, and heard 1I10 
latter ibretel his death, and to what he ascribed 
it. 

Now lliat we are upon this subject, it nay net 
be amiss to mention Finow's son, ih^o at this pe- 
riod of our history was at the Navigator^s isiands, 
and used to be inspired by the spirit of Toogoo 
Ahoo, the late king of Tonga, who, it may be re- 
collected, was assassinated by Finow and Toob6 
Nuba. When this young chief returned to Hapai, 
Mr Mariner, who was upon a footing of gresBt 
friendship with him^ one day asked him how he 
felt himself when the spirit of Toogoo Ahoo vi- 

* It is customary to take sick persons to the house of a 
priest, that the will of the gods may be known. The 
priest becomes immediately inspired, and remains almost 
constantly in that state while the sick person is with blm. 
If he does not get better in two or three days, he is takea 
to another priest, &c. 

f Bolotoo is the name they give to their paradise, and 
Is supposed to be an island to Uie north-westward. The 
souls of deceased nobles become sods ot 1^ tacoiAii twok 
^ BoiottHK ^ 



THE TOKGA ISLANDS. 105 

ftted him ; be replied, that he could not well de- 
•cnbe his feelings ; but the btet he could say of i% 
was, that he felt himself all over in a glow of heat, 
and quite restless and uncomfortable, and did not 
leel his own personal identity as it were, but seem-* 
ed to have a mind different from his own natural 
miud» his thoughts wandering upon strange and 
unusual subjects, although perfectly sensible of 
surrounding objects. He next asked him how he 
Imexv it was the spirit of Toogoo Ahoo ? his an- 
swer was, " There 8 a fool ! how can I tell you 
Aoi£y I knew it ; I felt and knew it was so by a 
kind of consciousness ; my mind told me that it 
was Toogoo Ahoo. ** Hnow used occasionally to 
be inspired by the ghost of Moomooi, a former 
king of Tonga, 

We must iM>w return to Finow and his army, 
ad the idand oi Pangaixnotoo. 

A sufficient quantity of reeds and stakes having 
been procm*ed, Finow and his army left Pangai- 
■loloa and landed at Nioocalofisi, for the purpose 
of rebuilding the colo (or fortress). The plan 
was marked out somewhat diffei^ent from the forr 
mer,: and larger, as being judged more suitable to 
their views^ A vast number of bands were em* 
pSoyed, and ia two days the building was finished 
•«^a few aherations and additions being afterwards 
made, ar occasion and convenience required. Dur<p 
log the time this was about, several of the men 
got dangerously wounded by falling into the lovo^ 
Mas and sokieSy * of which th^e were several on 

♦ Lotoses are pitfalls, dug ^5C te^ 9i^^-^ «cA ^wax 
broad; aeveral streaks of 'bamboA 'ate dtv^cw VesXo ^'a.Xso?^ 
torn and sharpened. Sokies are srcvaWer \vc\^, VvOcv orcw^ 
ftakein, and large enough to admit a TcvaxC^V^^ '^V^sasR 



106 TRAilSACTIONS At 

the land side of the coh. Tbey were also mnch 
annoyed by the smell of the dMl bodies that lay 
every where, but which they did not take th^ 
trouble to bury, as they were enemies, f The 
canoes were now hauled up on the beach, and a 
strong fencing of stakes driven roimd them. The 
four guns were, drawn into the fortress, and one 
placed at each door. 

A few days afterwards, a small party, who went 
up into the country, according to their daily cus- 
tom, for the pui*pose of gathering cocoa nuts, were 
attacked by a laiiger party of the enemy, when 
one man was killed, and the rest driven back to 
the coh. Upon' this, a body ^ two hundred set 
out (Mr Mariner among them) in pursuit of the 
enemy. They found them, and were kept at a 
running fight, till decoyed beyond where another 
party lay concealed, who immediately rose, at- 
tacked them in the rear, and killed about thirty. 
The Hapai people now began to run, and Mr Ma- 
riner, with four of the natives who were engaged 
with another party, found it necessary to decamp 
also. In crossing a field of high grass, Mr Mari- 
ner fell into a hole six feet deep. His four faith- 
ful friends were resolved to save him, and three 
defended the place with their spears, while one 
helped him out. One of the thi*ee was killed on 

lovosas and sokies are covered over tvith slender sticks con- 
cealed from sight by plantain leaves and earth. 

f The bodies that were found within the confines of the 

fortress they were of course obliged to remove; and 

t/i0se were thrown for the most part into the sea, whidi 

occasioned a greater number of ^haxlu to frequent the 

P^o for a time. 



THE TOKOA iStAl^MI. l07 

the spot. Having extricated him from his perilous 
situation, and finding a large body of the enemy close 
upon them, they resolved to sell their lives to th^ 
utmost advantage. At this moment, their own 
pai-ty looking round, and seeing these four bravely 
make a stand, came up with all speed to their as- 
sistance, and a general battle took place, which 
was obstinately fought for some time, but at length 
the enemy was completely put to the rout. Whilst 
this was going forward, a Hapai chief, at some 
distance from his Mends, met a Tonga chief under 
the same circumstances. They immediately en- 
gaged with their clubs. One, however, being soon 
disarmed, and the other having broken his club, 
they fought with their fists ; till, at last, so weak 
that they could not strike, they grappled with each 
other, and both fell to the ground. The Tonga 
chief, incapable of injuring his antagonist in any 
other way, got his. fingers into his mouth, and 
gnawed them dreadfully ; and after lying for a long 
time looking at each other, they gathered a little 
fresh strength, and by mutual agreement each 
crawled home to his respective fort. The Hapai 
men, on their way back to Nioocalofa, found se- 
veral of their Mends in different parts of the road, 
who were imable to proceed on account of their 
wounds, but they were too weak themselves to 
cany them, and wei% obliged to leave them to the 
mercy of the enemy. They at length arrived at 
the colo, tired and fatigued beyond conception, 
with about fifteen prisoners. 

The following day, some of the younger chiefs, 
who had contracted the Fiji h&\]ivt»^ ijiws^^*'^^ ^ 
kill the jmsonera, lest they dao\]X^ Toska "^wsv^ 

VOL. I. 1 



108 TRANSACTIONS AT 

escape, and then to roast and eat them. The 
proposal was readily agreed to, by some, because 
they liked this sort of diet, and by others because 
they wanted to try it, thinking it a manly and 
warlike habit. There was also another motive, 
viz. a great scarcity of proFisions ; for some canoes 
which had been sent to the Hapai inlands for a 
supply were unaccountably detained, and t^e gar- 
rison was already threatened with distress. Some 
of the prisonere were soon despatched ; their flesh 
was cut up into small portions, washed with sea- 
water, wrapped up in plantain leaves, and roasted 
under hot stones ; two or three were embowelled, 
and baked whole the same as a pig.* A few days 
now elapsed without any signs of the canoes from 
Hapai, and the distress of those who did not choose 
to eat human flesh was very great. Mr Mariner had 
been two days and a half without eating any thing, 
when, passing by a house where they were cook- 
ing something, he walked in, with the pleasing 
hope <^ getting something that his stomach would 
beais if it were only a piece of a rat. On. inquiry, 
he was told they had got some pork, and a man 
offered him a piece of liver, which he eagerly ac- 
cepted, and was raising to his mouth, when he 
saw, by the smile on the countenance of the roan, 
that it was human liver. Overcome by disgust, he 
threw it in the mans's £Rce, who only laughed, and 
asked him if it were not better to eat good meat 
than die of hunger. 

When Captain Cook visited these islands, can- 
nibalism was scarcely thought of amongst them 
but the Fiji people soon taught them this, as we] 

♦ Fbr their different methods of cooking, reference mu; 
i^e wade to tiie second volume of the work. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 109 

9ti tbe art of war ; and a famine, which happened 
some time afterwards, rendered the expedient for 
a time almost necessary. On this occasion they 
way-laid and murdered one another to supply 
themselres with food ; and they still tell an anec- 
dote of fonr brothers, who, in itns time of scarci- 
ty, invited their aunt to come and partake of a 
large yam, which they said they had secretly pro- 
em^. The poor woman, glad of the idea of 
getting something to eat, and pleased with the 
kindness of her nephews, went to their house, 
where they soon despatched her, and she herself 
formed the materials of a repast. Since that pe- 
riod, there was a great scarcity at one of the 
fortresses on the isluid of Tonga, called Nookoo 
Noc^oo^ Two daughters of a chi^ of this place 
agreed to play at the game of lafo * against two 
young chiefs belonging to the same place, upon 
the following conditions: — If the girls lost the 
game, they were to divide a yam, which they had 
in. their possession, and give half to the young 
chiefs; but if, on the contrary, these lost the 
game, they wesre still to hare half the yam, but 
were to go out and kill a man, and give half his 
body to the girls. Th^ result was, that the latter 
won the game, and, giving half their yam to the 
two chiefs, waited for the performance of their 
agreement. The two young men set out under 
cover of the daikness of the night, and concealed 
themselves near an enemy's fortress. Early in the 
morning, a man came out of the fencing to fetch 
some salt-water from the shore in cocoa-nut shells, 
which he carried with him for the purpose. When 

♦ This game will be descnbcd uv \^^ ^^^wA N^isxbs»a ^ 
the work. 



110 TRANSACTIONS AT 

he approached the place where the two lay coa**. 
cealed, they started out upon biin, killed him with 
their clubs, and, at the risk of their Ufos, brought 
his body to Nookoo Nookoo, where they (Uvided 
it, and faithfully performed their promise. 

It was mora than a fortnight before the canoes 
returned from the Hapai Islands with a supply of 
provisions, owing to the bad state of the weather ; 
and shortly after, the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo 
sent to request leave . to bury the dead bodies of 
their relations who had fallen during the siege. 
This being granted, they came and singled out 
half a dozen from the 3^0 that lay about, whom, 
they knew, from particular circumst^ces, to be 
their relations. These they took home fo Nookoo 
Nookoo, leaving all the rest where they found 
them. 

Every day a number of deserters from different 
gariisons came over to Finow. They all brought 
intelligence that Finow might shortly expect an at- 
tack from one or other of them ; but die fortress 
of Nioocalofk was now well prepared to receive 
tliem. In the meanwhile, the chief of a fortress . 
called Bea, about four miles to the eastward, en- 
tered into an alliance with Finow, or rather sub- 
mitted to his dominion, acknowledging him lung 
of Tonga. The name of this chief was.Tarky'. 

Having remained a fortnight or three weeks in 
daily expectation of an attack from an enemy, and 
seeing yet no signs of it, Finow became exceed- 
ingly impatient ; for he was desirous pf returning 
to the Hapai Islands, to perform an indispensable 
eeremony of a religious nature, which we shall 
nofv explain. At &e death o? Too\u>tk^ (jKevc 
S^vat dUine chief) f there ib widi «^ wsMtosiX ^seafcV 



THfi TONGA I6LAKDS. Ill 

ing for neftriy a month, as to threaten a future 
scarcity of certain kinds of provisions. To pre^ 
vent which eyil, a prohibition, or taboo^ is after- 
wards laid upon hogs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts, so 
that nobody but great chiefs may use them for 
food, mider pain of death. This taSoo lasts about 
eight months. When Mr Mariner first arrived at 
these islands, Tooitonga, the pi-edecessor of the 
present Tooitonga, had just died, and the cere- 
mony of his burial was about to be performed, al- 
though he had not an opportunity of witnessing it. 
The feasting consequent upon this event being 
over, the tSiboo was imposed upon the Articles 
above named ; and now, after the lapse of eight 
months, the period to take it off had arrived^ 
^e accomplishment of which constitutes the cere- 
mony in question. It must be mentioned, by the 
way, that two or three plantations are not subject 
to this tahoo^ to the end that hogs, fowls, and 
cocoa-nuts, maybe furnished for occasional reli- 
gious rites, and for the consumption of the higher 
orders. If the removal of the taboo were not per- 
forlbed in due time, it is supposed that the gods 
would become exceedingly angry, and revenge 
themselves by the death of some of their great 
chiefs. 

Finow, »8 before stated, seeing no appearance 
of an enemy, and being anxious to return to 
Hapai for the performance of this ceremony, con- 
sulted the gods, and was admonished to proceed 
to the Hapai Islands as soon as possible. With 
this view, he at first intended to make some Es- 
ther arrangements with Tarky, wvCl \q V»n^ "^ 
hundred of bia men to garmon 1S\w>csi5«Jte ^^\s»^ 

1 '2 



112 TRANSACTIONS AT 

return. But being adTised not to do so, lest this 
chief should prove treacherous, and put them to 
death, he resolved to give the fortress wholly up 
to Tarky', and not run such risk. The canoes 
were accordingly launched, and stored with pro- 
visions ; and having given up Nioocalofa to Tarky "s 
chiefs, upon their faithful promise to take all due . 
care of it, Finow went on board with all his army 
tlie same afternoon, and landed at Pangaimotoo, 
intending to sail the following morning for the 
Hapai Islands. 

During the nighty a great fire was seen at Tonga, 
towards Nioocalofa, and the fortress itself was 
suspected to be on. fire ; but whether from accident, 
or the treachery of Tarky', Finow was resolved to 
learn as soon as j)0S8ible. Before sunrise, therefore^ 
he sent out a canoe to make inquiry, which soon 
returned with the information, received from a well 
disposed subject of Tarky', that the place was burnt - 
by order of that chief, whilst Finow was within 
sight, on purpose to vex and in-itate him. At this 
insult, Finow was so enraged, 'that he resolved to 
go back immediately, and exterminate Tark/ and 
all his £amily : but the priests persuaded him not, 
reminding him of the admonition of the gods. 
This circumstance so affected him, that it prevent- 
ed his departure till the following morning. In 
tlie rajan time, a Ton^ chief, Fiiimoeatoo, and 
his family, having obtained permission from the 
superior chief of hifif gamson (that of Hihifo) to 
join Finow, as he was his relation, arrived at Pan- 
gaimotoo, and entered into the king's service* 
During the day, another circumstance occurred 
^hicb amused Finow^ and aerved to o^cX VVi^ roS* 
^^ 9tate of his temper. Mx Msnmw, \i&V\a^ 



THE TONGA ISLANBS. 113 

keard that European ships mor& frequently touch^ 
ed at Tonga than at any of the other islands, had 
written, while yet at Tonga, an Englisli letter 
(with a solution of gunpowder and a little nmci- 
lage for ink), on some paper which one of the na- 
tives had had a iong time in his possession, and 
addressed it to whomsoever it might be, statuig 
the circumstances of his situation, and that of his 
companions. This letter he had confided to the 
care of the chief of Mafanga (the consecrated 
place formerly mentioned), with directions to give 
it to the captain of any ship that might arrive at 
Tonga. Tooi Tooi (the Sandwich islander) hav- 
ing somehow heard of this letter, mentioned it to 
Finow, and represented it to be a notice to Eurc- 
pean ships of the fate of the Poit au Piince, and 
a request to take revenge for the destruction of 
her crew. Finow immediately sent for the letter, 
and obtained it, under some specious pretext, from 
the chief of Mafanga. When it was put into his 
hands, he looked at it on all sides ; but not being 
able to make any thing of it, he gave it to Jere- 
miah Higgins, who was at Imnd, and ordered him 
to say what it meant. Mr Mariner was not pre- 
sent. Higgins took the letter, and translating 
part of it into the Tonga language, judiciously re- 
presented it to be merely a request to any English 
captain that might aiiive to interfere with Finow 
for the liberty of Mr Mariner and his country- 
men ; stating, that they had been kindly treated 
by the natives, but, nevertheless, wished to return^ 
if possible, to their native country. This was not 
indeed the true substance of the Ve^XXfcT, XsvjXSX'^^a 
what was least likely to gvve oft«iiea\ «0l^ ^^ 
chief accordingly remarked^ xWX Sx ^^ ^^^"i "^^"^ 



1141 TRANSACrrONS AT 

tui*al for these poor fellows to wish to go back to* 
their natire country and fnends. * 

TIhs mode of communieatiiig sentiments was aft 
iiiezpliGable pusile to Finow ; he took the letter 
again and examined it> bat it afforded him no in- 
formation. He considered the matter a little 
within himself ; hat his thoughts reflected no light 
upon the sahject. At length he sent for Mr Ma- 
riner, and desired him to write down something r 
the latter asked what he would choose to have' 
written ; he replied, put down me: he accord- 
ingly wrote ^^F'eenaw'* (spelling it after the^ 
strict English mrthogniphy) : the chief then sent 
for another Englishman wno bad not been present, 
and commanded Mr Mariner to turn his back and 
look anotlier way, he gave the man the paper, and 
desired him to tell what that was : he accordingly 
pronounced aloud the name of the king, upon 
which Fmow snatched the paper from his hand, 
and, with astonishment, looked at it, turned it 
roimd and examined it in all directions ; at lengtk 
he exclaimed, ** This is neither like myself, nor any 
body else ! where are my legs ? how do you know 
it to be I ? *' and then, without stopping for any 
attempt at an explanation, he impatiently ordered 
Mr Mariner to write something else, and thus era- 
ployed him for three or four hours in putting dowa 
the names of diflFerent persons, places, and things, 

* The letter, in fact» was an advice to European 8hip» 
to go to the Hapai Islands in preference to tlie Island of 
Tonga, as being a better place for victualling ; advising, ■ 
at the same time, not to sufl^r many of the natives to be 
on board at once, lest Ifaey should ine«t with the same fiite 
«y tho^ Port an Princf ; but, if poMibXe, \o tiit^ ^\&e oi^ 
^e chiefs prisoners, and kee]^ them as Vio^UBkU^^ >jO\'^&:& 
Mnriaer and ids companims were de\V»«eA >iV- 



' THE TONGA ISLANDS. 115 

and making the other man read them. This af- 
forded extraordinary diveraion to Finow, and to all 
the men and women present, particularly as he now 
and then whispered a little love anecdote, which 
was strictly wi'itten down, and audibly read by the 
otJier, not a little to the confusion of one or other 
of the ladies present. It was all taken in good 
humour, however, for curiosity and astonishment 
were the prevailing passions. How their names 
and circumstances could be communicated through- 
so mysterious a channel, was altogether past their- 
comprehension* Finow had long ago formed his 
opinion of books and papers, and this as much re« 
sembled witchcraft as any thing he had ever seen 

. or heard of. Mr Mariner in vain attempted to ex- 
plain. He had yet too slender a knowledge of 
their language to make himself clearly understood : 
and, indeed, it would not have be«n an easy mat- 
ter to have explained the composition of elemen- 
tary sounds, and of arbitraiy signs expressive of 
Uiem, to a people whose minds were already form- 
ed to other modes of thinkings and whose language 
bad few expressions but what concerned the ordi- 
nary affairs of life. Finow, at length, thought 
he had got a notion of it, and explained to 
those about him that it was very possible to put 
down a mark or sign of something that had been 
seen both by the writer and reader, and which 
should be mutually understood by them ; but Mr 
Mariner immediately informed him, that he could 
write down any thing that he had never seen. 
The king direcdy whispered to him to put Toogoo ^ 
Ahoo (the king of Tonga, whom btt wivV Tvy;5»aU . 
Nuba had assasamsited many yeax^ \><iW«ft ^v "^-s^- 

mters aniral). This was accoiOos^;^'^ ^Wia> ^isv*^ 



115 TRANSACTIONS AT 

^e other read it ; wlien Finow was yet more ai^* 
tonkhed. He then desired him to write ** Tarky/*^ 
(ibe chief of the garrison of Bea, whom Mr Ma- 
finer and his eompaniens had Hot yet seen ; thi» 
chief was blind in one eye). When ** Tarky" was 
read, Finow inquired whether he was blind or 
not. This was putting wilting to an imfair test f 
and Mr Mariner told him, that he had only writ* 
ten down the sign standing for the sound of his 
name^ and not for tiie description of his person. 
He waa then ordered in a whiter to write,. 
^ TarJ^f hlmd in kis U^ et^ '* which was done^ 
and read by the other man to the increased asto- 
nisbmeitt of every body. Mr Mariner then told 
liim that, in sevend parts of the world, messages 
were sent to great distances through the same me^ 
dium, and, being folded and fastened up, the 
bearer could know nothing of the contents ; and 
that the histories of whole nations were thus 
handed down to posterity, without spoiling by be- 
ing kept (as he chose to express himself). Finow 
acknowledged this to be a most noble invention, 
but added, that it would not at all do for the 
Tonga islands ; that there would be nothing but 
disturbances and conspiracies, and he should not 
be sure of his life, perhaps, another month. He 
said, however, jocularly, that he should like ta 
know it himself, and for all the women to know 
it, that he might make love with less risk of dis- 
covery, and not so much chance of incurring the 
vengeance of their husbands. 

The following morning they again embarked, 

iuid, sAiling with a favourable wind for the Hapai 

Elands, they arrived at li^ainooea, vndi \]\\.\xoa^'^ 

^ -I^/begs. Orders wem uovi SB«ufiA> «A \(i«^ 



THS TONGA ISLANDS. 1 17 

ratlonB were speedily made for the ceremony of 
anuttlling the eight months taboo. The places ap« 
pcopriated for this purpose were two malais, and 
the gra^e of Tooitonga. For distinction's sake, 
we shall call the first malai Tooitonga's, and the 
second Finow's. Tooitongas malai is near his 
own residence, and on tliis were erected four 
columns of yams in the following manner. Four 
poles, about eighteen feet long, were fixed upright 
in the grpund, to the depth of a few feet, at about 
fom' feet distance from each other in a quadrangu* 
lar form ; the spaces between them, all the way to 
the top, being crossed by smaller poles about six 
inches distant from each other, and lashed on by the 
bark of the fow, a species of the Hibiscus. The 
interior of this erection was filled up as they pro- 
ceeded with yams. Afterwards other upright 
poles were lushed on to the top with cross pieces, 
etili piling up the yams ; then a third set of poles, 
Ike till the column of yams was about fifty or 
eixty feet high, and on the top of all was placed a 
cold baked pig. Four such columns were erected, 
one at each corner of the malai, the day before 
the cei^mony, and three or four hundred h<^8 
were killetl, and half baked. The following day 
the hogs were carried to the king's malai, about a 
quarter of a mile off, and placed upon the ground 
before the house, as well as four or five wooden cars 
or sledges fiiU of yams, each holding about five 
hundred. In the mean time, the people as^mbled 
from all quarters, and those who were already ar- 
rived sat down round the king's malau Orea- 
sionally some of them got up to amnAe \Wavs^H^s^ 
and tbo rat of the company^ Xiy vrce^wv'^ ^\^ 
eacb atber, wfrile the kittg aad \\v& tXvvRjiA, Csxsi«»5i.^ 



118 TRANSACTIONS AT 

in plaited gnatoo, already seated in the boase, 
viewed what was g<nng forwanl. The company 
beuig at length all arrived and seated, the king 
gave notice that the ceremony was to- begin. The 
yonng chiefs and warriors, and those- who prided 
themselves in their strength, then got up singly, and 
endeavoured in turns to carry oft* the largest h<^. 
When one failed, another tried ; then a third, and 
so on, till every one that chose had made a trial of 
his strength. To carry one of the largest hogs is 
not a thing easy to be done, on account of its 
greasmess as well as its weight ; but it affords a 
considerable share of diversion to see a man em- 
bracing a large fat baked hog, and endeavouring to 
raise it on his shoulder. As the hog was fopnd too 
heavy for one man's strength, it was carried away 
by two, whilst a third followed with its liver. 
They were deposited on the ground near Tooi- 
tonga's malaiy where the men waited till the o« 
thei-s were brought. In the mean time the trial 
was going on with the second hog, which being 
also found too heavy for one man, was carried 
away by two in like manner ; and so on with the 
third, fourth, &c the largest being carried away 
first, and the least, last. The second, third, 
fourth, &c. afibrded more sport than the first, 
as being a nearer counterbalance with a man s 
strength. Sontietimes he had got it nearly upon 
his shoulder, when it slipped through his arms, 
and, in bis endeavour to save it, brought him 
down also. It is an honour to attempt these 
things, and even the king sometimes puts his hand 
to Jt The small hogs and pigs afforded no diver- 
stoo, aa they were easily lifted «xid cnmed awayr 
^■c6 by one many and dej^osUed) uoit ^ ^^ cnx- 



TIIK TONGA IftLAKbS. 119 

side of Tooitonga 8 tnalM^ along with the largest 
hogs, bat carried at once into it, where the cars of 
-yams were also dragged one at a time. When 
every thing was thus cleared from the king's ma" 
iai, the company got up and proceeded to the 
other, where they i^ain seated themselves, whilst 
Tooitonga presided, and the king and his chiefs, 
out of respect, sat on the outside of the ring a- 
mong the great body of the people. The large 
hogs, which had been deposited in the neighbour- 
hood of this malai, were now to be brought in, 
each by one man, and, as it had been found that 
one man's strength was not sufficient to raise any 
of them upon his shoulders, two others were al- 
lowed to lift the hog, and place it upon his shoul- 
ders for him, and then he tottered in with his load, 
followed by another man with the liver ; and in 
this manner all the hogs and their livers were car- 
ried in and deposited in two or three rows before 
Tooitonga. Their number was then counted by 
the head cooks of Tooitonga and Pinow, and an- 
nounced aloud to Tooitonga by his own head cook. 
The number of cars and piles of yams was also 
announced at the same time. This being done, 
about twenty of the largest hogs were carried to 
Tooitonga's burying-place, nearly an hundred yards 
distant, and deposited near the grave. One car 
of yams was also taken, and left in like manner. 
This portion of pork and yam being disposed of, 
the remainder was shared out in the following man- 
ner : One column of yams was allotted to the king, 
to be removed in the afternoon, and to be disposed 
of as he pleased, (he alwaya BYi«re& \X %s&«i^\^ 
chie£8 and Bghting men) ; anotW coVxeqsl'9««^ ^^V 

VOL. J. K ^ 



120 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ted to Veachi,* and two or three other chiefs ; the 
third was given to the gods, (the priests always take 
care of this portion) ; and the foordi Tooitonga claim- 
ed for his own share. As to the cars of yams, they 
were never inquired after. Tooitonga generally 
takes care of them, and appropriates them to his 
own use, and that of his numerous household ; not 
that he has any legal right to them heyond custom 
and silent consent. The hogs were disposed of in 
like manner ; the greatest quantity to the greatest 
chiefe,. who share them but to the chiefs immedi- 
ately below them in rank, and these again to their 
dependents, till every man in the island gets 
at least a mouthful of pork and yam. The cere- 
mony now concluded with dancing, wrestling, 
&c after which, every person present having se- 
cured his portion, retired to his home to share it 
with his family. From this moment the taboo, or 
prohibition upon hogs, fowls, and cocoa-nuts, was 
null and void. 

The hogs and yams left at Tooitonga's grave, 
having remained tiiere several days, were shared 
out, by order of Tooitonga, to all who chose 
to i^ply for a portion. They belong indeed pro- 
perly to the principal chiefs ; but as they are ac- 
customed to feed upon meat in a better state 
of preservation, they forego their claims, and al- 
low the lower orders to eat it for them. Mr 
Mariner could not learn why the pork was thus 
left till it was scarcely eatable — the only answer 
he could get was, that such was the ancient cus* 

* Vcachi, like Tooitonga, is a divine chief, that is de- 
*cmk/«/ Amn a god. He ia^ however, inferior to Tooi- 
f***HS^ but higher in rank iHtasa One )uxij^« W veootui^^* 
''"^^ of the work. 



THB TONGA ISLAKDS. 121 

torn. It may perhaps be considered an ofBBiing 
to Tooitonga's ancestors, which it wonld be sa- 
crilegious to take away while it was good for any 
thing ! 

Finow had three daughters, the eldest of whom, 
now about eighteen years of age, had been long 
betrothed to Tooitonga, who having expressed his 
wish that the marriage should take place, Finow 
gave orders for the necessary preparations, about 
five days after the above-mentioned ceremony. 
Tooitonga was now about forty years of age. The 
particulars of this chief's marriage, which was 
somewhat different from those of other chiefs, shall 
be here described. 

The young lady having been profusely anointed 
with cocoa-nut oil, scented with sandal-wood, was 
dressed in the choicest mats of the Navigator's Isl- 
ands, of the finest texture, and as soft as silk. So 
many of these costly mats were wrapped round her, 
perhaps moi*e than forty yards, that her arms stuck 
out from her body in a ludicrous manner ; and she 
could not, strictly speaking, sit down, but was 
obliged to bend in a sort of half-sitting posture, 
leaning upon her female attendants, who were un- 
der the neccessity of again raising her when she 
required it. A young gii*l, about five years of age, 
was also- dressed out in a similar manner, to be her 
immediate and particular handmaid. Four other 
young virgins, about sixteen, were also her fol- 
lowers, and were d]*e88ed in a manner nearly si- 
milar, but not with quite so many mats. The lady 
and her five companions being all ready, proceeded 
to the malai of Tooitonga, vrho ^aa ^«<i> ^«Xf« 
wg for tbeir arrii^, togetber "wnxh. «t tsoxs^ifc^ ^ 
oiher chiefs ; two matabooVea sv\\j«v^ \jeSot^ \sasv. 



123 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Being arrived, they seated themselves on the greeii - 
before Tooitonga. After the lapse of a little time, 
a woman entered the circle with her face covered 
np with white gnatoo. She went into the housQ 
of the maidiy and proceeded towards the upper 
end, where there sat another woman in waiting, 
with a large roll of gnaJtoo^ a wooden pillow, * 
and a basket containing bottles of oiL The wo- 
man, whose &ce was veiled, took the gnaioo from 
the other, wrapped herself up in it, and laying her 
bead upon the wooden pillow, fell, or pretended 
to &U fiist asleep. No sooner was this done than 
Tooitonga rose np, and, taking his bride by her 
hand, led her into the house, and seated her on his 
fefi hand. Twenty baked hogs were now brought 
into the circle of die maldi, and a number of exr 
pert cooks came with knives procm-ed from Eu- 
ropean ships — (formerly they used bamboo) to try 
their skill in carving with speed and dexterityii 
which is considered a great recommendation. A 
considerable part was shared out to the chiefs^ 
each taking liis portion and putting it in his bon 
som. f llie remainder of the pork was thei^ 
heaped up, and scrambled for at an appointed sig- 
nal. The woman who had laid herself down, co- 

* A pillow to sleep on, in these islands, consists merely 
of a rod of wood about an inch in diameter, and a foot 
and a half long, and raised about half a foot by two di- 
verging pieces at each end. The nape of the neck rests 
upon this. 

f It is a peculiar reli^ous injunction in this ceremony, 

that the chiefs should put their pork in their bosoms, for 

they never eat it themselves ; and as it is tabooed by toudi- 

JD£^ them, no other native of the Tonga Islands may eat 

•fV/ so that it generally falls ultimately to the lot of the 

^Mtf res of the Jfffi Itlanda, or ottifat {om^Mm \it«aiw>x» 

wAo sre not subject to tbfl <a6oo of Tonfpu ^«t \ia% Xi».- 



TftE TbNaA ISLANDS. 123 

▼ered over with gnatoOy now rose np and went a* 
way, taking with her the gnatoOy and the basket 
containing the bottles of oil, as her perquisites. 
Tooitonga then took his bride by her left hand, 
and led her to his dwelling, followed by the little 
girl and the four other attendants ; and the people 
now dispersed, each to his home. Tooitonga being 
arrived with his bride at his residence, accompa- 
nied her into the house appropriated for her, ^ 
where he left her to hare her mats taken off, and 
her usual dress put on ; after which she amused 
herself in conversation with the women. In the 
mean time a feast was prepared for the evening, of 
pigs, fowls, yams &c. and cava. This was got 
ready on the malah where, about dusk, Tooitonga 
presiding, the company sat down to receive their 
portions, which the generality reserved to take 
home with them ; the lower orders, indeed, who 
bad but a small quantity, consumed theirs on the 
gpot. After this the cava was shared out and 
drunk. The musicians (if so they can be called) 
next sat down at the bottom of the ring, opposite 
to Tooitonga, in the middle of a circle of flam- 
beaus, held by men who also held baskets of sand 
to receive the ashes. The musical instruments 
consisted of seven or eight bamboos of different 

tare of the taboo, reference must be made to the second 
volume of the work. 

• It must be noticed, that every great chief has within 
his fencing several houses, one or more of which always 
belongs to his wives. He seldom goes to their house to 
sleep. He generally sends for one to sleep with him ; at 
least, this is always the case with Toolton^^ ^at \tf5QK>JSr| 
can eat, drinJt, or sleep in the same \io>x^<i va>&v Xsme^ ^>sisNi- 
out being tabooed* 

K 2 



124 TRAKSACTIOMft AT 

lengths and sizes, (from three to six feet k>ng) so 
aa to produce, held hy the middle, and one end 
being struck on the gi'ound, different notes, accord- 
ing to the intended tune (all the knots being cat 
out of the bamboo, and one end plugged up with 
soft wood). The only other instrument was a 
piece of split bamboo, on which a man struck with 
two sticks, one in each hand, to regulate the time. 
The music was an accompaniment to dancing, 
which was kept up a considerable time. * The 
dancing being over, one of the old matabooles ad- 
dressed the company, making a moral discourse on 
the subject c^ chaadtyyt^ulTising the young men 
to respect, in all cases, the wives of their neigh- 
lours, and never to take liberties even with an un- 
married woman against her free consent. The 
company then rose, and dispersed to their respec- 
tive homes. The bride was not present at this en- 
tertainment. Tooitonga being amved at his house, 
sent for the bride, who immediately obeyed the 
summotis. The moment they retired together the 
lights were extinguished, and a man, appointed at 
the door for the purpose, announced it to the peo- 
ple by three hideous yells, (similar to the war- 
whoop), which he followed up immediately by thoi 
loud and repeated sound of the cimch. 

* Their dances have already been described by Captain 
Cook and others ; the account is therefore omitted here, not 
to interrupt the narratiTe. 



Till TONGA ISLANDS. 125 



* CHAPTER V. 

We are now coining to a new era in the history 
of the Tonga islands, occasioned by the political 
intrigues of Toob6 Toa, a natural son of J[!oogoo 
Ahoo, by one of that king s female attendants* 
Toobo Toa was the chief that formerly had the 
direction of the conspiracy 'againstthe Port au 
Prince. Not so brave and disinterested as Toobo 
Nuba, he partook rather of the character of Finow» 
with a little more ferocity, but less depth of po- 
licy. It will be recollected that Toobo Nuha was 
the chief that assassinated Toogoo Ahoo; ever 
since which period Toobo Tea's desire of revenge 
was most implacable. He had made a tow never 
to drink the milk of the cocoa-nut out of the shell 
till he had fully accomplished it. He had hither- 
to espoused the cause of Finow against the adher- 
ents of his father, which may seem strange, as 
Finow himself was a principal accomplice in that 
assassination, though his policy did not allow him 
to be the immediate perpetrator ; but Toobo Toa 
knew well that he should have no chance of suc- 
cess agsunst so strong a power as that of Finow : 
and joined him, that he might \iB.^e, ^wsvfc <vcs«. ^'^^ 
other, an opportunity, however ^aav^ctwiA ^^ "^* 
tempt, of iFreakijig a signal yen^«ns» otv^^^^^ 



126 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Nuba. The cn'sis was now fast approaching, for he 
had well prepared the way, by constantly whispering 
into the ear of Finow something disadvantageous to 
the character of Toobo Nuba. At one time he 
represented him to be the meditator of certain con- 
spiracies ; at another the enviable possessor of a 
happier island (Vavaoo), much more productive 
of every article of convenience and luxury. Some- 
times he insinuated that Toob6 Nuba (hd not pay 
sufficient annual tribute, considi3ring the fertility 
of the island and the superior dignity of I*inow ; 
at other times he represented him as ambitious, 
that he sought to gain too much the love of the 
people, and by his success in this w^y became 
too powerful. He moreover never ceased to re- 
mind the king of the frequent opposition made by 
Toobo Nuba to his wise measures in regard to bis 
warlike preparations against Tonga; and at last 
he had the boldness to propose his assassination. 
Finow, who was not at all startled at proposals of 
this nature, but who never wished, if possible, to 
appear to the world as a party concerned, lent an 
attentive ear to Toob6 T6a, and half promised his 
assistance, but advised that the execution of bis 
project shoidd be deferred till some future and 
more fit opportunity offered. 

To enter properly into the merit of this account, 
Finow's character must all along be kept in view. * 

* * There is a portrait of this remarkable man in Labil- 
' lm'diere*s Account of D'Entrecasteaux* Voyage. He . 
happens also to be described in the Journal of one of Cap- 
tain Cook*8 officers, which is now before us : ** Finow, " 
says the wxiter, *' appeared to be about twenty-five years 
of age, a tall, handsome man *. Vie Vva^ touOq. ^tc «.ud vi- 
vacity, with a degree of wildncsamVvw to\3i3oSLCt«LTit^ i3mJl 
n^4.a uOied widi jour idea oC «ali\<»ask ^frtmot, wsAVa 



THJB TONGA IS&AlffDB. 1S7 

He was a man of a deep and desigoing sphnt, al- 
^'aya willing to farour any conspiracy iJiat pro- 
fiiised to advance his interests, but exc«$edinprly 
CAntions how he let any body know liis intentions, 
even the paity that proposed it. He always con- 
ducted himself with such admirable policy, that 
no one c<>a]d dive thoroughly into his projects. 
Toobo Nuha, his brother, on the contrar)^, was a 
truly brav^ man,' and, upon the whole, of an un- 
designing and liberal mind; for though he had 
proposed and perpetrated the assassination of Too- 
goo Ahoo, it was believed to be not so much to 
avenge his own personal wroDgs as those of his 
country. He often used to express to Mr Marl- 
was one of the most actire men I have ever seen. The 
western part of Tongataboo, with Anamooka, the Hapai 
Islands, and all the islands to the northward, were under 
his jurisdiction. But what gave him more consequence, 
was his spirit, activity, and his post as general. VThen- 
ever the people of Tongataboo went to war, they were 
headed by him. His followers were numerous, and more 
attached to him than those of any other cliief ; in short, he 
was by much the most popular man among the islands. 
Kevertheleas, Finow, with all his good qualities, was taint- 
ed with a degree of rapaciousness that made him guilty of 
actions rather bordering on meaunoss and dishonesty, 
vhich, I believe, he was chiefly tempted to from a desire 
of being liberal to his adherents. " Mr Mariner and his 
friendly editor will read this description of their hero in 
his youth with mucli interest Little did Finow imagine 
when, in directing the massacre of the sliip's crew, lie 
gave orders to spare a boy whose appearance and youth 
had excited his compassion, that by that boyV uicans his 
life and actions should be made known throughout tlip 
dvilixed world, and perhaps to the latest poster! ry ; for 
Fiuow is not one of those men whose history is f<ir^ottC'n 
as soon as read, — his character is sixong^ly isvaJc\iAts^ vc^ 
prominent, — one of those which, m f uVuie «^«s ''^'^ 'i^ax^^ 
tUone for remembrance. ' — Qtiortcrlii lUvicw, VoU "XV 1\- 



128 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ner the extent and nature of his feelings on that 
occasion,, how he regretted that so many beautiful 
and innocent women should be sacrificed at the 
same time ; * yet how strongly he felt that the li- 
berty of his country was that moment in his power, 
whilst the desire of avenging its wrongs was like 
a raging thirst that overpowered every other sen- 
sation. No sooner was the blow struck than he 
saved all that he could save, a little child of three 
years old, which he bore away in his arms from 
ihe scene of slaughter. The liberality of his mind 
will also i^pear from his answers to those who some- 
times hintcKi to him that Finow was not his friend, 
and that it was dierefore proper for him always to go 
armed. '* Finow,'' he replied^ '* is my brother — he is 
my superior chief—- he is king of these islands, 
and I pay him tribute as a servant. If he has any 
reason to be dissatisfied with my conduct, my life 
is at his disposal, and he is welcome to take it ; 
for it is better to die than to live innocent, and yet 
he thought capable of treachery. Besides, I will 
not arm myself against a power to which, as long 
as the country is well governed^ it is my duty to 
submit. " 

This brave chief was still at Lefooga with all 

his army, in daily expectation of receiving orders 

from the king for their return to Vavaoo. Toobo 

T6a thinking the opportunity too advantageous to 

be lost, did not approve of the advice of Finow, 

to wait yet a little longer. What opportunity, he 

thought, could be better than the present, while 

« Toobo Nuba was still on the same island with him, 

ami the kiDg seemed disposed to favour his views ? 

-^^ had Jbarboured sentimentA o^ x^^e^^^g^ ^k^ Vs^ 

• Seo note* v ^^ 



Sfe., 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 129 

within his hreast, and the fitness of the occasion 
so spurred his resolution^ that erery day's delay 
appeared in his imagination the loss of an age. 
Flnow's feeling upon the subject was supposed not 
to be very far remote from that of Toobo Toa ; 
but as he saw very cleai-ly that this chief s deter- 
mination was fully bent upon his purpose, and re« 
quired no encouragement from him, he chose mere- 
ly by an outward show of moderation and wisdom 
to give a sort of passive consent, and to remain 
by this means the spectator rather than the actor 
in this scene, so as to avoid if possible the odium 
of being an accomplice in the mm-der of so brave 
and good a man. 

A few days had elapsed, and Toob6 Nuba was 
still among the mmiber of the living. One evening, 
about an hour before sun-set, the king desired Mr 
Mariner to accompany him and hia daughter to 
Mahina Fekite, about three quarters of a mile off. 
He was going, he said, to consult an old chief, 
Togo he Mooana, who resided there, upon some 
political business. Finow usually carried out with 
him a large whaling knife, (the blade of which 
was two feet long and three inches wide). Mr 
Mariner observing, on this occasion, that he did 
not take his knife, asked him if he should take 
it and carry it for him ; he replied, No, I have 
no need of it; the other obeyed, and follow- 
ed* him and his daughter, unarmed. In their 
way they came near to a pool, and Finow step- 
ped aside, to bathe, previously sending an attend- 
ant to Toob6 Nuba, to desire him to come to him. 
By the time he had done bathing To^V^^ '^^^S^d. 

* Wb&i several persons walk to^e^^i, Sx v& ^>x^K»roKr| 
for one to follow another in a row. 



ISO TRANSACTIONS AT 

arrived) and all four pursued their walk to the 
old chief's house ; where, when they arrived, die 
two chiefs and Finow's daughter entered the in«- 
aide fencing, while Mr Mariner went into a house 
within the outside fencing, and remained in con- 
versation with a female attendant of Finow's 
daughter. They had not heen long here, before 
Toobo Toa came in, and shortly went out a** 
gain. Immediately after, four men belonging to 
him totered, and began to take down the sail, mast, 
&c. of a small canoe ; stating as their motive, when 
questioned by the woman, Toobo Toa's orders to 
prepare one. * In about two hours Finow came 
out of the inner fencing, followed by Toob6 Nuba 
and his own daughter. It was now ni^t, but by 
the light of the moon they went on. Mr Man* 
ner followed, and the female attendant walked 
last. As they passed the comer of the outer 
fencing, Toobo Toa and the four men just spoken 
of rushed from their hiding-place, and made a vio- 
lent assault on Toobo Nuba. The first blow of a 
club he received on his shoulder, intended for his 
head ; and he immediately exclaimed, ** O iaoaS 
Finow^ teoo mate (oh I Finow, am I to be kill- 
ed?)" then retiring a few steps, set his back a- 
gainst the fencing. Finow, who was several paces 
in advance, immediately made what was thought 
B. feigned attempt to defend him, exclaiming, *^ O 
iaooe seeoke gooa mate e tangata ! (alas ! this noble 
man is killed !) " but he was held from his strong, 
yet pretended endeavour to iim to his assistance, 

* The orders they had received from Toobo Toa were, 
jn fact, to get ready a canoe to make his escape in, if his 
intended project, againtt the H^e «£ Toctoo ^>q^ ^•c^alkii 
Sfil* Thene four men wera bU coiAdenV** 



THK TONGA ISLANDS. 131 

by sotne other attendants of Toob6 T6a, who 
came up and forced finow hito the fencing. Toob6 
Nuba, who was without any offensire weapon, as 
he had been without any suspicion, warded off 
several blows with his hands and arms, till both 
these being broken, he was unable to lift them up, 
when a blow from Toobo Toa on the head made 
him stagger, another knocked him down, and he 
was beaten as long as signs of life remained, and 
for some time after. At this moment a young war- 
rior, whose name was Latoo Ila, and whose fother 
had been formerly killed, under strong suspicions of 
conspiracy, by Toobo Nidia, came up to the spot, pos- 
sessed by a spirit of implacable revenge. He struck 
the body of the dead chief several times, and exclaim- 
ed, " The time of vengeance is come ! thou hast 
been long enough the chief of Vavaoo, living in 
ease and luxury. Thou murderer of my father I 
I would have declared my sentiments long ago, 
if I could have depended upon others to second 
me. Not that t feared death by making thee my 
enemy ; but the vengeance of my chief, Toobo 
Tea, was first to be satisfied, and it was a duty I 
owed the spirit of my father to preserve my life 
as long as possible, that I might have the satis- 
faction to see thee thus I " 

On the first noise of the scuffle, Mr Mariner, 
imagining that Finow himself was attacked, at- 
tempted to rush forward, though unarmed, to his 
assistance, but was prevented by a strong man> 
who, taking him round the body, pinioned his 
anns to his side. The women, on hearing the 
sound of the blows, and the ex£\asna3GL<acL ^'I'X.q!^^^ 
Naha, nm sci^aming into tYie ieiMSom,* \sv ^^s^ 
vou /. la 



132 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ten minntes after the af!air, nearly two hondred of 
Finow's people assembledy armed with clubs and 
apears ; to a party of whom, with a chief at their 
Iwad, Finow gave orders to command Toob6 Nnha'a 
people, in his name, to go on board their respec- 
tive canoes, except the principal Vavaoo chiefe, 
who were to come into his presence. These or* 
ders were scarcely given, when one of the late 
chief's adopted sons, Hala Api Api, came before 
Pinow, and striking his club against the ground, 
exclaimed, " Why sit you there idle ? — why do 
you not rouse yourself and your men, to revenge 
the death of the fallen hero? If it had been 
your lot to have sunk thus beneath the clubs of 
your enemies, would he have hesitated to have 
sacrificed his life for your revenge ? — How great 
a chief he was I how sadly has he died I '' Finow 
made no reply ; and the young warrior, retiiii^ 
a little, sat down. 

The affection of the Vavaoo pec^le for their 
chief was great, but they thought the present a 
very disadvantageous opportunity of seeking re- 
venge. They were in a part of the country where 
their enemies were numerous ; their canoes might 
be taken from them, and their retreat cut off. 
When they received Pinow's orders, therefore, 
they immediately obeyed them, the great body 
going into their respective canoes, and their 
chiefs coming into the king's presence. On their 
anival they sat before him, their heads bow- 
ed down in dejection and utter sadness. Pi- 
now, in his usual style of artful eloquence, made 
them a speech, m which he positively declared 
his innocence of the murder, ^xl<\ \o& \fteiHJvaiQ& 
ignorance of its being Aout lo Vsiiwb ^^Rft« '^^ 



TRK TOKGA ISLANDS. 13S 

acknowledged, however, that Toobo Toa confided 
to him his intentions, and asked his assistancey 
which he promised. Bat that he had made this 
promise without meaning to fulfil it, thinking by 
ihis^method, to satisfy for a time the urgent solid' 
tations of that chief; lest, not having made it, he 
ahould undertake the rash act before proper mea- 
sores could be adopted to prevent it. 

While he was yet speaking, his own wives and 
women having been sent for, came and sat down 
behind him. His epeedi being ended, half an 
liour's silence ensued, nobody daring to deliver his 
sentiments. The company then rose by finow s 
order, and foUowed him to his house. As he pass- 
ed the body, he ordered it to be lifted up and car- 
ried before him. When the procession arrived, 
the body was laid down on the outside of the 
Louse, and washed all over with a mixture of oil 
and water (as is customary), by one of Finow's 
-wives and Mr Mariner, nobody else offering to do 
St, on account of their objections to being taboo^d.^ 

* No person can touch a dead chief without being fa- 
hoo^d for ten lunar months, except chiefs, who are only 
taboo'd for three, four, or five mootibs, according to the 
saperiority of the dead chief; except again it be the body 
ef Tooitonga, and then even the greatest chief would be 
iaboo*d ten months, as was the case with Hnow^s wife a- 
bore mentioned. During the time a man is taboo* d^ he 
■niBt not feed himself with his own hands, but mwrt be 
£ed by somebody ebe» He must not eren use a toothpick 
histtelf, but must guide another per5on*s hand holding 
Ihe toothpick. If he is hungry, and there is no one to 
feed him, he must go down upon his hands and knees, 
mnd pick up his victuals with h£i mootii* And if he in- 
fiixiges upon any of these rules, it is €rm\^ «i:^i«XR^'ft&«&. 
be wiD flrweU up and die; and lihaab^^ V& ^» ^x^'o%»'^s«». 
#£r Jflaooer thinks no nadve eY«j is»Aa msv^i.Y*^^*^^'^" 



134 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Finow's wife did not mind it, because she was al- 
ready taboo' d^ from haying touched the dead body 
of the late Tooitonga nine months before, and had 
consequently got accustomed to the inconveniences 
of it ; and Mr Mariner did not hesitate to do this 
last office to his friend, because he had no super* 
stitious feai*8 of the consequences. The body, be« 
ing washed, was brought into the house, laid on a 
large bale of gnatoOy and anointed with sandal 
wood oil. Toobo Nuha*8 widows (four in num- 
ber) now came in to mourn over the dead body of 
their departed chief. They entered beating their 
breasts and hce^, and screaming with all the agony 
and frantic agitation of mad women. They sat 
down close round the corpse, and in a most dis- 
mal strain began singing : 

O iaooe ! seookf ! Alas ! woe is me i 

O iaooe ! go6a mate 6, Alas ! he is dead ! 

O iaoo^ ! gooa te ofa 6. Alas ! how I respect him ! 

O iaooe ! gooa te t^gi e. Alas ! bow I lament his loss ! 

O iaooe ! mowmow 6, Alas ! here are his ruins ! 

These verses were repeated over and over 
again, without any order, during the whole night. 
The mourners ^lequently beating their breasts 
and faces, and now and then making exclamations 
regarding themselves, as to what would become of 
them now they had lost their great chief and protec- 
tor, and with him all their happiness and comfort. 
The house was lighted up by lamps with cocoa- 
nut oil. About one hundred and fifty persons 
were present, among whom were Finow and Mr 

prove the contrary. They often saw him feed himself 
»vf6 bis bands after having touched dead ^Icfs^ and not 
observing his health to decline, the^ atUiJBoXeA. W. Vo\b» 
««y « foreigner, and being governed b^ diSwciA^a^ 



THK TONGA ISLAKDS» 135 

Mariner; boUi of whom staid the whole night. 
Finow's wives retired to rest. Mr Mariner deep- 
ly felt on his mind the depressing inflnence of 
tiiese sorrowftd lamentations. The poor nnf<Hta- 
nate women at inter>*als only sobbed and mourned 
for a time, then broke out loudly as before ; till, 
by degrees, the voice growing weak^ sunk into a 
hoarse murmur, as if all the powers of the soul 
were fast declining under a weight of anguish. 
Then a heart-rending exclamation of sorrow from 
one spread its contagion to all the rest, and thus 
was the whole night spent in lamentations for 
the death of a good and great man ; who, as far 
as human judgment can determine, was unjustly 
accused, and undeservedly sacrificed. 

During all this time, the chiefs and warriors of 
the king kept themselves on the alarm, expecdng 
every moment a revolt from the people . of Toob6 
Kuha. Every thing, however, remained quiet, 
and the following morning finow issued orders 
for the body to be carried on board a canoe along 
with him, to proceed to the island of Wiha. 
This was accordingly done, and they set sail, 
sixty or seventy other canoes following, with the 
Vavaoo people, and several of the king's warriors. 
When they arrived at Wiha, a grave was opened 
for Toobo Nuba in the fytoca * of his ancestora, 
wherein his body was deposited in the presence of 

• Fytoca, a burying place, including the grave, the 
XBOunt in which it is sunk, and a sort of shed over it. 
The grave of a chiers family is a vault,, lined at the bot- 
tom inth one large stone, one at each side^ and <sck& '«x 
the foot and head, and is about ev^X. ^^«^. \wv%-» «^^ ^^*** 
hroad, aad eight feet deep, coveted. «>. ^<i V»^ ^^^ ^^^ 
kugestoae, 

1-2 



186 TRANSACTIONS AT 

all who came in Uie canoes, besides a considerable 
niunber of the natives of the island. * 

As soon as the corpse was let down into th^ 
grave, Chioolooa, one of his murderers, a great 
warrior and a powerful man, advanced forward in- 
to the middle of tlie circle, brandishing his club, 
and addressed the Vavaoo people to the following 
ef&ii; : '^ If there be any among you harbouring 
secret tlioughts of revenge, keep them no longer 
buried in your bosom, meditating plans of future 
insurrection, but come now forth and fight me on 
the spot, for, by sacrificing me, you will revenge 
his death. I q|n the man who acted a princijud 
part in his death : Come on, then, one and all, and 
wreak your vengeance on my head ! "— Nobody^ 
however, accepted this challenge; not but there 
were many Vavaoo chiefs who would willingly 
have done it, had they not thought better to re- 
serve themselves, to effect a future and more sig- 
nal vengeance. The stone was now put over the 
grave, and the company dispersed, 

Puring the whole of this time, in consequence 
of finow's orders, every circumstance was attend- 
ed to that might prevent an insurrection on the 
part of tlie Vavaoo warriors. The four carronades 
which Finow had brought with him were drawr 
up before the fencing in which he meant to residr 
during his stay : the Vavaoo people were furbiddei 
to carry any offensive weapons ; whilst those c 
Hapai were ordered to be under arms, and to kee 
themselves on the alert. 

Two or tlu-ee days after this funeral ceremoo 

* The ceremoD J of this buna\ \ft OEavWc^ «& \m£wt^ 
'^^iimr to, though not quite «o foTma\, «i& 'wViiX '^WV >m 
»^ribea hcrmiter on the occwaon oC muorw'% ^eft.\3Du 



TRI TOVGA ISLANDS. 137 

llie king vammoned a priy&te meedng hi his pre* 
sence of the chieh of Hapai, and those of Vavaoo, 
when the latter swore all^^iance to Finow with 
their hands placed upon a consecrated bowl,* 
whilst cava was mixing in it, invoking the god, 
Tooi fboa Bolotoo, to whom the bowl was conse- 
crated, and praying him to punidi them with un- 
timely death if they should aftegrwank break their 
TOW, or harbour any thoughts to ttiat intent. The 
cava was then shared out, and the king informed 
the Vavaoo chiefs, that thenceforth they were to 
consider Toe Oomoo (his aunt) as their law- 
ful chief, and to pay respect to her as such, at 
her caFa ceremonies. They accordingly pror 
mised all due submission and obedience to 
their newly appointed chief; after which the 
assembly rose up, and dispersed to their respective 
houses. The following day, Finow, and all that 
had come with him, went on board their canoes, 
and returned back to Lefooga, and, shortly after- 
wards, all the Vavaoo people, except the greater 
part of the matabooles f of the late Toobo Nuha, 
yfho were detained by Finow, pursued their course 
to Vayaoo. 

About a fortnight after their departure, there 

* The bowl is held consecrated, because it is kept on 
purpose to make cava io, for the ceremonies of that god 
only (Tooi fooa Bolotoo), being used on no other occasion. 
If a great chief takes an oath, he swears by the god, lay- 
ing his band upon the consecrated bowl ; if an inferior 
c^iief takes an oath, he swears by his superior relation, who^ 
of course, is a greater chief, and lays his hand ap<Mi his feet« 

f He retained the matabooles of the XaXe Onl'Q:^ ^ \«^ V) 
tbetr eouDsei mod advice the "Sv^^Xm -^eo^e i^>A^\)^ 

iaiaeaoB with tbc cUfift. 



138 TRANSACTIONS AT 

arrived a canoe from Vavaoo with a mataboofkv 
and tlurty or forty men, who were well affected 
towards finow. They -hrovght the nnexpected 
information, that the people of that island, at the 
instigation, and under the guidance of their daief, 
Toe Oomoo (Finow's aunt), had come to the re- 
solution of freeing themselves from the dominion 
of the king, and of erecting themselves into a se- 
parate nation. Toe Oomoo, it seems, had made 
a speech to her ehiefe, in which she declared, that 
she found it expedient to shake off the yoke of 
Finow ; for, although she was his aunt, she could 
not hut remember with gratitude the obligations 
she lay under to Toob6 Nuha, and the respect 
'Aat was due to his memory. Toob6 Nuha, she 
said, had been her particular friend, and she wa» 
determined to act in a manner worthy the honour 
of so great a man's fiiendship. She then appeal* 
ed to her chiefs and matabooles, demanding of them 
their opinion. Here a consultation began, which 
was kept up a considerable time without coming^ 
to any determination, . some arguing rather in fa- 
vour of Fmow's conduct, others against it; till, 
at length, an old woman (sister to Toe Oomoo)v 
rushed into the middle of the assembly, armed 
with a-club and spear, and brandishing them in the 
air, demanded, with a loud voice, why they hesi- 
tated so long in an affair in which honour clearly 
pointed out the only proper path to pursue? 
'' But, " she added, " if the men are turned wo- 
men, the women shall turn men, and revenge the 
death of their murdered chief. Let, then, the 
^nen stand idly looking OU) vn:^ viWu "«« «ie sa- 
criBced in the gloriouB CBu»e> V!^« cmssL^^ tsas^^ 
perhaps, excite them to fij^t ^"^ ^laVsL^^sfc ^^^ 



TBS TOWQA ISLANDS. 139 

•piritod endeaYour to support and defend their 
rights. '* The warlike deelaration of this he- 
roine roused the chiefs into a state of activi- 
ty, and they speedily came to a resolution to 
build a large and strong fc»tres8, and to put them- 
selves in a state of defence against any incursions 
that Finow might make upon dtem, or rather which 
Toob6 Toa might urge ham to make. 

The proposed fortress was to he the largest thai 
ever was known in the Tonga Islands, to he in 
short a fortified town, capable of holding all the 
inhabitants of Vavaoo about 8000 in number), with 
their houses and bury ing-plaoes, to be buih round the 
Mooa. * It was to be constructed, as usual, of reed 
fencings, much on the same plan as that of Nioo- 
ealofe, formerly described, but to be surrounded 
by a deep and firmnset bank of solid clay, about 
twelve feet high, with a ditch on the inner side of 
it, from which the day would be furnished, and 
ihns be proof against the guns. Within this ditch, 
and next the fencing, was to be another bank of clay, 
smaller than the o&ot ; and the whole of the mate- 
rials ofthe fencing were to be proportionably strong- 
and good. Among a great deal of information which 
the old mataboole communicated, was that respect- 
ing the bravado of a Vavaoo warrior, who declared 
his utter contempt ofthe guns. It is customary for 
every professed warrior, before he goes to battle, 
or expects the coming of an enemy, to give him- 
self the name of some one particular person, whom 
be means to single out and fight. This warrior, 
however, instead of assuming the name of one of 

• The chiefs' houses are generiAVf ».\.u«.\R^ Voij^^^^v 
and this gdacQ in called the Mooa, X\\o xftfc\xQi^<:JOA ^1 '^"^ 
MMOtL 



140 " TRANSACTIONS AT 

the enemy, proudly called himself Fanna FomMXMi 
(a great gon), declaring that he would run holdly up 
to a camioD, and throw his spear into the mouth of it« 
When Finow was informed of these proceedings 
of the Yavaoo people, he immediately resolved ttf 
make a descent upon them with a powerfid farce^ 
and reduce them into subjection before they could 
have completed their designs. - But the priestv 
dissuaded him from this hasty project, and pro- 
posed that it would be much more acceptable W 
the gods to make, in the first place, an offer of 
lecondliation. The king, however, had not much 
respect for the priests, and though he sometimes 
oonforuDed with their advice, it was generally be* 
cause it tallied with his own opinion, or he did 
it for the mere outside show of veneration for 
llie gods. His want of religion was, indeed, id- 
most proverbial, and, on this account, the people 
often wondered that he was so successful ia 
war. In this particular instance he was so ex- 
asperated at the conduct of his aunt, that not 
^e perauasion of the priests, nor the admoni- 
tions of the gods, could prevent him turning hi» 
immediate attention to the necessary preparations 
for a speedy attack on Vavaoo. Intermediate and 
unexpected events, however, put a stop, for a tirne^ 
to these preparations. 

At this period, after an absence of five years, 

MoegnagnoBgo, Finow's son and heir, arrived from 

Hamoa (the Navigator s Islands) accompanied by 

Voona, another great chief who had formerly been 

such at Vavaoo. They and their retinue had sailed 

^'om Hamoa in six cAuoes, one of which, containing 

sixty persons, and 'a\\ Moe^'wgivOTv^<cJ^\s:«MsQx«i> 

w^ lost m a gale of wmd. * IniOfckfcvi ws^ "^^s^ 



TRB TOUOA ISLANDS. 141 

tondied at Vavaoo, not knowing the political si- 
tiia.tion of the island, and were near being forcibly 
detained ; but, obseiring something suspicious in 
the conduct of the people, they put off to sea a- 
gain, and thus made their escape. Their arrival at 
Lefooga occasioned great feasting and rejoicing, 
which lasted many days, and served to divert the 
long from his immediate warlike projects. 

Two daughters of chiefs had, for several years, 
been kept apart, and reserved to be the wives of 
the young prince (as we shall beg leave to call 
him, to avoid the frequent repetition of his un- 
couth name), as soon as he should return from 
Hamoa. He had, indeed, brought two wives with 
him, but finding that his friends at home had not 
been unmindfai of him in this particular, he re- 
solved to marry these young maidens also ; and, 
partly to please his own humour, and partly to 
afford a little amusement to the Hapai people, he 
also resolved that the ceremony should be perform- 
ed, for the most part, after the manner of the Na- 
vigator^s Islands. 

On the morning of the day of marriage, which 
was about a week after the arrival of the prince, 
most of the lower class were employed in bring- 
ing fh>m different parts of the island, yams, ripe 
plantains, and bananas; cocoa-nuts, bread fruit, 
fish, and cakes, * which were piled up on the 
malSi in four large heaps, with a baked pig on the 
top of each. The people soon assembled on the 
spot, dressed in new garments, ornamented with 

* These eakes are iniid« of floor ^r«903c«A.itcRcv^<(^l&Q.<. 
koa root (see the vocabulary^), mixed "o.^ -wV^v witk^kA 
9oco»-Bnt Into » ptutCf and baked. Tbfi^ ^^ coiosk^s?^^ 
Mluxtujn 



148 TRANSACTIONS At 

ivreatht of flowers, and with red ribandB mad* 
of die fine membrane of the leaf of the lo ae&us 
nrach resembling silk; — their persons anointed 
with sweet-scented oil. The spectators seated 
themselyes in two sections of a circle, one bsv 
ginning from the right, the other from the left 
hand of Finow and his matabooles ; and at their 
terminations stood the Hapai people on the ont 
side, and the new-comers (most of them Hapai 
people also) on Uie other, so as to be opposite ta 
each other, both parties being fiinushed with 
dubs made of the green branches of the cocoa* 
nnt tree* The prince, who was also armed with 
a clnb, stood up among his Hamoa companions. 

The two brides were now conducted by theit 
female attendants from the house of Finow, neat 
n the nuddi. They were dressed in the finest Har 
j^ moa mats,* but not in such profusion as described 
in Tooitonga s marriage, and were veiled in the 
finest gncUoo, They were led into the house on 
the malMf and seated on bales also of the finest 
gnatoo. Here their feet, hands, faces, and breasts^ 
were anointed with a mixture of sandal-wood oil, 
and the purest turmeric, producing a deep orange 
tint on their skins. They remained seated in thia 
place, to be spectatmii of the combat that was 
about to ensue between the inhabitants of Hapai 
and their friends from Hamoa. 

The two parties being ready, the challenge* 
were given in the following way. A man from 

* These mats are made entirely by hand, and, when 
reiy fiae and large, occupy two years making. This 
renden them exceedingly ^aiuabVe. TW) v« so exqiu* 
«ic«/y iDAiiufactured, that oaa ^looVi wx^V^ma ^«&Dt \ft>M 
W'orea bjr « loom. ' 



TOa TUiaA ULAKIM. 14S 

one side rm over to the cippoats'puty, snd wtx 
down before it. He then maide a nen to know if 
uiy one would engage with him ; and the penoa 
choosing to accept the challenge came iumaid 
brandishing his dnb, when the two combatants 
proceeded to the middle of the circle, each at- 
tended by one from his own party to assist as se* 
cond. They next detennined whetho- they shoold 
fight after the Tonga or Hamoa fashion ; die dif- 
ference of which is, that the Hamoa cnstom aDows 
a man to beat his antagonist after he is knocked 
down, as long as he perceives signs of motion ; 
^ile the Tonga mode only allows him to 
flourish his club over his frilen foe, and tha 
fight is ended. Tins point being ag r ee d on, tha 
two champions for the applause of the nniltitnds 
began to engage ; and, when they had finished, 
another party came on in the same way. Som a - 
times there are three or foor sets of combatanta 
engaged at the same time, l^lien s aoan tains 
a victory, his own party gives a shont of ap» 
probati<m, «o, wo, a ma io, i or, i, ai; * 
the champion then advances towards the chief 
who presides at the head of the circle, (in this m» 
stance the king), sits down before him. oat of re- 
elect, then rises immediately, and retoms to his 



* Tbe vords of this ezdaantiaa have, stfrn im ttlr, b» 
particular meaning. In nsptct to tbe piviiiDclation. tlie . 
in wo must be dwelt on at least fire seconds ; the a is to bo 
toonded as in ah I tar, &c. tfke t as ^ in be, wc^ Are. : the 
whole b given in a aoit of recitative, and Tcay alowlj.^- 
K. B. when an e occpn m tha Tonga lamiap, it mual 
be pnMiounoed like a in date, latc^ 4c Foi UXNS&ki ^^hx> 
ticnlars on the subject of pronundaSdm^VM ^QnACWaooDaK. 

VOL. f. M 



144 TRANSACTIONS AT 

own party. Sadi was the mode in which' these 
club-fights were conducted; the prince engaging 
in seyeral of them, and performing great feat3 of 
hra^ery. He fought no less than fourteen or 
fifteen battles, and always came off Fictorions. 

The fighting with clubs being over, at a signal 
from Finow, the boxing and wrestling matches 
commenced; but as these Tonga performances have 
been so accurately described by Captain Cook, it 
would be unnecessary to enter here into a detail. 

These feats being concluded, the prince and his 
chiefs retired to the neighbouring houses to dress 
their heads with a sort of turban, made of white 
gnatooy ornamented with small red feathers. Thus 
equipped, they returned to the malai^ when the 
chiefe sat down again among their own party, and 
the prince went up to his two brides, who were 
still sitting in the house. Raising them up, one 
by each hand, he led them forth upon Uie mal^ 
amid the acclamations of the people, who dapped 
their hands, whilst the matabooles exclaimed 
tnaUe ! malie ! (well done I well done !). The 
young chiefe and their companions from Hamoa* 
then beating time with their hands, sung the fol- 
lowing song, in the language of the Navigator'f 
Islands. Mr Mariner was so much m the liabi 
of hearing the Tonga people sing in that lanp^iagi 
which they a£fect to admire, though very few ui 
derstand, he neglected to inquire the meaning 
this song ; but the words, or rather the syllable 
(for it is hard to say whether they are rightly ( 
Tided), he remembers perfectly, as many of f 
people went about all the following night sing 
ii^ accotdm^ to the ^iistom «X Has&sMb* Toft « 
ia m foUowB :— 



THS TONOA I8LAKDB. 145 

Life Ufe ^, Mfe e, 

Lafe Ufe ^ cfainil&i] ; 

Chi a my ta td. 

Ooa lao f Sa tala oa. 

Moegm^noDgo 6, MoegnagnongD € ; 

Toobo mo Lak^pa e, Toob& mo Lak^pa k 

Toobo Mo Lakepa was the same aS me of the 
brides, who was a parsonage of greater rank than 
the other. 

While this singing and these aodamalaons were 
going forward, d^e prince led his brides to the 
bottom of the maldi with a slow and dignified 
step, and then returned, amid the same acelama- 
tions, into the hoase, and re-seated tb^n upon iJie 
bales of gnaioo; after which he commenced a 
dance on the maiai with the yoimg chiefs, who 
had pot on tnrbans. This dance was abo after 
the manner of the Navigator's Islands, and seemed 
to afford the people mnch entertainment. In Mr 
Mariner's opinion, tha« was not so greait an exhi- 
bition of agility as in their own dam^ but equal- 
ly as much grace, and somewhat more attitude. 
In the mean time, the brides were conducte<l to 
the residence of the bridegroom. The dance be- 
ing concluded, the provisions were shared oat; 
the two larger porticms were allotted, by Hnow s 
orders, to the new comers (to be disposed of af- 
terwards as they thought proper) ; the next largest 
was shared out to all foreigners, viz. natives of 
Fiji, Hamoa, the island of Fotoona, &c. ; and the 
remaining heap, at an appointed signal, was scram- 
bled for by all who chose to try their speed and 
dexterity. This last scene affox^o^ ^^^ ^^<£k-- 
aion to ill the spectators. T\ie \>«kj^ "^v^ ^"^ ^^'^^ 
top of the heap waa sooa bTo\]^\i% ^owiv^ «sA V^i^ 



146 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ed about in a most miserable way; being torn 
piecemeal, and so covered with sand and dirt as 
to be quite uneatable. The ceremony was now 
concluded by a general boxing-match ; the men 
from the north of the island combating those from 
the south ; till at length the men of the north 
droYe their opponents entirely off the ground. On 
occasions of such fights, the combatants are allow* 
ed to wear turbans, to resemble more nearly a real 
fight. It must here be obaerred, that turbans are 
not allowed to be worn but in time of wi^, and 
then only by those who are gcnng to battle, unless 
on occasions of formal rejoidngi like the present, 
or at night-time by chiefii and mataboolea, or by 
the eommoB people when at work in the fields or 
in canoes. Chi all other occasions, to wear a head- 
dress would be disrespectful ; for although no chief 
be present, yet some god unseen may be at hand* 
This custom is kept up with such strictness, that 
if a man were to wear a head-dress on other occa- 
sions, he would be sure to be knocked down by 
the first person he met who was a superior, and 
•▼en, periiaps, if he were an equ^ On occasiom 
when a turban is aUowed to be worn, it must bf 
removed from the head when a superior happen 
to approadi (unless in time bf actual battle) ; br 
it is usual for the superior to say to one who 
not much inferior, <* tooffoohofow" keep onyo' 
fitw, — as we would say, keep on your hat, — ^whi 
compliment is generally accepted. The king uf 
frequently to tell Mr Mariner, that if he ever i 
any common fellow with his head covered, he sho 
itnmediBtely knock him down. He was, howe 
aJlowed, like other foreigneta, \» 'w«w «.\v«ui-« 
•WiAoti* any resiriclloii^ a» W\ii% wi^wftd. 



THB TOHGA I8LANB8. 147 

governed by different gods^ and accwtomed to dif- 
f«renl manners. 

But to return to our subject. It may be no- 
ticed that the form of the prince s marriage, as 
here related, and which, fmr -the most part, was 
according to the Hamoa custom, was not ver^r dif- 
ferent from that of the Tonga islands ; but two parts 
of the Hamoa cerenoony were in this instance left 
out, viz. the payment of something Taluable to the 
biides* fathers by the bridegroom, such as bales of 
gnatoo, beads, &c. the brides being virgins. The 
other part of the ceremony, which in fact was to 
asceitain whether such payment was justly due, 
not being thought by the natives of the Tonga isl- 
ands consistent with delicay, was accordingly omit* 
ted. 

. In the evening of the same day, the largehons^ 
on the tneUai was lighted up with flambeaus. Sin- 
gers and dancers of Hapai assembled, and waited 
the arrival of ihe prince and his Hamoa friends. 
In a short time they came with presents of fine 
mats, dried cava root, &c * which they laid at the 
feet of Finow and his wife, Toobo ve Holhi, who 
were seated opposite the entrance. Her majesty 
returned the compliment, by presenting them with 
three or four English wine bottles, an hour-glass, 
without either sand or stand, and some pieces of 
iron hoop, made sharp in the iorm of chisels ; 
which having received, they retired and seated 
themselves on one side, opposite the party of 
Hi^iai singers. These latter now began a vocal 
concert^ in the language and after the manner of thft 

• The cava root of the Nt-vigatoY** l^axv^'^ v?^ ^c^sS^-t 
esteemed 

M 2 



148 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Hamoa ulandi. When they had finished, those 
from Hamoa suDg, and so on alternately during 
four er five hours, after which the company broke 
up. Tlie brides were not present at this concert ;' 
and the hridegroomy not finding himself much in- 
terested in it, soon gave them the slip. 

This ceremony, and these rejoicings, being over, 
Finow again began to torn his attmtion towards 
Vavaoo. In the first place, he despatched canoes 
to the different Hapai islands, with orders to each, 
that all the male inhabitants, excepting two of the 
oldest for each plantation, to keep them clear of 
weeds, &c. (the jrams bemg all planted), should 
assemble within ten days at Lefooga, armed with 
dabs and spears, and supplied wi^ a good stor» 
of provisions. Being all arrived within the time 
proposed, I^now issued orders to his forces to pre- 
pare for a review. On the appointed day they 
assembled on a malaiy to the amount of about six 
thousand, all armed, and painted, and dressed a&- 
coiding to some warlike iiwcy. Finow then do« 
livered a speech, in which he declared his opinion 
that the Tonga mode of warfare had hitherto been 
upon a very bad principle ; that instead of run- 
ning forwards, and then retreating, as they met 
with advantages or disadvantages, they ought ra- 
ther to remain together in a body, and push for- 
ward with the most determined cowage, and thus 
dash terror into the minds of their enemies ; or, 
by standing their ground with unconquerable steadi- 
ness, to strike them with astonishment at their 
foititude and strength. Such he ha4 heard was 
the way of fighting in England (meaning Europe 
^ large), and it claimed \na\)c^^<^X «i^\s»^b»DLV— 



THB TOMOA ISLANBI. 141 

** Andy ** he added, '^ if any man sees the point of 
a spear advancing upon his breast, he is not to run 
hack like a'x^ward, bnt push forward npon it, and 
at the risk of his life, deal destruction on his foe T* 
This last sentence he bellowed forth in a tone 
of voice that made every one tremble, for in this 
particular he was very remarkable. When power- 
fully and passionately excited, the sound of his 
voice was like the roaring of a wild beast, and 
might be heard at an incredible distance. 

Having finished his speech, several of his war- 
riors ran up to him, striking their clubs furiously 
on the ground, bidding him not to be airaid of-hia 
enemies, for that, comparatively speaking, there 
were no real warriors in Vavaoo, and that they 
would stand by him to the very last. The king 
then addressed them again, desciibing, in a move 
particular manner, how lliey were to proceed in 
their encoimter with the enemy, on the approach 
of whom they were all to sit down on the ground, 
and remain perfectly still, as if unconcerned in 
what was going forward; and even though the 
enemy were to throw spears and discharge arrows, 
they were nevertheless to renCiain motionless till 
they received orders to rise and rush upon them 
in a body. He then made them practise this ma- 
noeuvre several times. Lastly, he spiiited them 
up with thoughts of glory and honour, telling them 
at the same time, that death was a thing to be de- 
spised — ^not to be feared by a brave man, whose 
name woidd be remembered, when his body was 
buried in the dust. They were then dismissed, 
with orders that those belonf^^ \» ^^ x^a^^^T^ 
ialanda Mxnghi immediately relutn Voxi\&> \svs^ ^^^^ 



li>0 TRAKSACTIONS AT 

eee<l shortly to Haano, there to wait the arrhral ol 
the southern forces on their way to Vavaoo. * 

A few days after the review a canoe arrived 
from Vavaoo, with a few Hapai people, who were 
sdfiered to leave that island at their particular re- 
quest. They hrought intelligence that it was not 
the wish of Toe Oomoo and her chiefs to he at 

* About this time a circumstance happened, which ^ 
yinccs in a particular manner a disposition in the natives- 
to act with more justice, mercy, and discrimination tlian 
one miglit expect. Two boys, about fourteen years of 
age^ vis. Tliomas EvorsfieTd, an Knglishman, and John 
Roberta, • black native of Tortola, (iMth belonging to the- 
Port au Prince), were detected stealing a bale of gnatoo- 
from a consecrated house* If they had been natives, they 
would instantly have been punished with death. But the 
chiefi and matabooles took the matter into consideration, 
and resolved that, at tiliej were foreigners, and so yming- 
and tlioughtlesa, the o&nce this time should be overlook* 
ed. Nevertheless, to appease the anger of the god, ta 
whom the house was consecrated, it was thought necessary 
to address him humbly upon the subject Accordingly, 
his priest, followed by chiefs and matabeoles, dreMed iir 
mats, with leaves of the Jfi tree round their necks, in to^ 
ken of humility and sorrow, went in solemn procession ta 
the house ; and sat down before it, and Ifie priest address- 
ed the divinity to the following purpose :— ^ Here thoix 
seest the chiefs and matabooles that have eome to thee^ 
hoping that thou wilt be meruiiiil ! The boys are youngs 
and being foreigners, are not so well acq;uainted with ouc 
customs, and did not reflect upon the greatness of the 
crime. We pray thse^ tfacfefore, not to punish the people 
for the sins of these tbou^itless youths. Yfe have sparec 
them, and.bejpe that thou wilt be merciful and spare us.' 
—The priest then re. 3 up, and they all retired in tfa 
same way they came. The chiefs, and particularly F 
now, most severely reprimanded the boys, and endcavou 
ed strongly to impress upon their minds the enormity 
^Ae offence, and tliat they owed their lives solely to th 
^^csumed tgnoranoe of the exleut q( VVi« craE&v TV 
butt of them hcattily f r\^V\teucd. 



THB TOVOA ISLANM. 151 

war with H^pai, but that they considered it a duty 
they owed to themselves to act with strong mea^ 
irares in regard to Finow, whom they esteemed of 
so treacherous a character, that a peace with him 
now would only be the forerunner of disaster and 
inglorious death. On this account, they chose 
rather to meet their fi»te in the field, than to lire 
an idle and peaceful life for a short time, and at 
length be cruelly murdered, to satisfy his revenge* 
They moreover stated, that it was the determina- 
tion of the Vayaoo warriors to rush out suddenly 
upon the white m^, and take possession of the 
guns. 

A few days afterwards, all affairs being settled 
in regard to the management of the plantations, 
the canoes were refitted and launched, and early 
in the morning the king, and all the forces with 
him, (about 4000 strong), proceeded to Haano, 
about three leagues to the ncHrth, to join those 
who, according to orders, were waiting for them. 
At Haanoa, the king was received with customary 
fbasting and rejoicing, and on tlie following day 
the gods were consulted in regard to the expedi* 
tion. The answer was similar to the admonition 
formerly given, viz. that the king should first pro- 
ceed to Vavaoo with three canoes only, containing 
such men as had few or no relations at Vavaoo, 
lest they should be tempted to desert. Above 
all, with none who had been instrumental in the 
assassination of Toob6 Nuba, or had been former<;, 
ly his adherents, lest their presence might excite 
still farther the anger of the Vavaoo people ; and^ 
thus accompanied, he sbould offct Vercoa ^\ -^"^iRfe 
in the most friendly maimer. lA^vva^Vj '^^^osssr 
bad eaMdeut opportunity to lefiLfccX. cw5^^ '«s^^ ^^' 



ItB TKAVSACTrOKS AV 

SbflnlrilfV i^nd thoraiDto vM% ifinly npoB lUi 
liwiMH^ FkuKr «nMed raadily into tte iheusmk 
Vkm^ cMMw wmm dieretai got veady, and, whii 
Mtte of the Jmio iiC figfatHw M«h <»f omAi deocriiH 
tion tft tho ortdo l yrofodT'Of, he went on hmtA 
•—Mr Mariner beii^ ui the kibe's eaaoe, and two 
oAer Eaglishraea on boafd one of the otheM 
They now prooeeded towards Va?aoo; and aathajF 
approached llie dKNtta of that khoid, they eaiiie a^ 
iMi sevoal oanoea bekaging' to it, e ndea j f oariiig 
>» awJaa tiiihr oacapo» for ituSf ftaiiiiHil tiieBe warn 
OBqr*«aw<:foaanaiiiHa of o tege neet diawii^ 
near. Tho lAa^ howofar, informed ihem liiat 
ho waa not coaainy widtwailllii JntaJtoia, hot' 
ttat' nfa oneot waa peaoajp'Ond no •'Wai^ WKfwg 
Ibeni viatt for Ae aolo pmpoae of ndpaiing 
natfera amicably. He ti^n diemieBed theni^ 
and thef paddled away imme^ately for diaa 
part of the island where the great foiliWB wria 
sitoatedb As the expedition pamed a point abool 
fii« nrilea to the aonthward of the fort, a nmn- 
har^ nativoa wore oeon on the beail^ painted 
and drciMi o d after the manner of war, and arm- 
• ed wi^ cliih9 and speare ; they menaaod tfte vink 
ton with every martial gesture, foriondy spfanhing 
op the wMer with their ohibo» and mmting the 
war-who<^ loudly and reraeaOedlyC When tfao^ 
had proceeded a little farmer,- tlnra eame up t 
them « canoe from the griffiaoay mth a wanii 
named Ta e Taagata. Ha wora n tarban * on Ir 

* It mil be rtcellected,. that turbans are only worn 
dmx-'timep when witfan a^ of an enemj:* &c This v 
^fr a ta fofi^ came «a an anemv. T^ui^ ^mbjMrvm ^nvf 
^^^mf^jid m afgBar<fftlatM»catOr> «iUum ^ \sAm 



THE TOVGA i5LAV1k«. 1.3 

head^ and stated tliat h^ caamm^ wiick iiwi» fimn 
Toe Oomoo^ to inqfuire ir any 4l^ T<ui&fi- >^nhA'4 
mnrderen were od board : inr h^ w«i rnaiiy. fin 
fiaidy to figjit them, aad bj firtvu hiA lilR in btv 
nour of that jneaf and motdiksM cfiwr* Finn^ir. 
in answer, told faim dw parpfwe' 4r' iioi ftrnniniz^ 
that there were none o< To^bo Xahai'it iniir.tf»inr« 
on board, and as to hiowei£. he wm purtiititdy' wp^ 
disposed to make a peace ; sjuIt «iaot«w hm tnu^ 
mies might think of him, it «a» the aivJMt ofWiiAC 
his heart. No aooaer dai the Va tasn warrmr ttf^ar 
this miexpected dedantioBy dHU he* pnAftii (iif ft» 
turban, and takiaf a piece of cami fwtCr wtma 411 
hoard Finow^s canoe^ and^ lacmer pvwwac^ ^hi% 
cava to the kmg, he kiMcd hii fiwt an a aurk 1I 
respect. The ldn|^ then ibmmfh ham, demnwf 
him to rdate to his dnefa the sly cf of tiii if uinwan; 
and that he shonU the same cwcnini^ if def hmKi 
permit him, pass on to NcaiMv * ta Issm* es*a 
there, and the foDowini^ wmmo fL fnc»^ €• thiit 
fortress, to adjust lenna of peace. A» sma » thi» 
warriiv departed with his m cs H agc^ Finow dEre«;te4 
his comve np an inlet to Xeafoo, when: kit mtvw* 
ed and landed without anyoppositioBy and, htmttg^ 
left cava with the avoal cere m ony f'^ee p. 94^, Vs 
retnmed on board, and passed the mffht in another 
branch of the inlet leadimr np to the fortress ; t** 
wards which, early the following mominjr, he pro* 
ceeded with the three canoes. At first be intend- 
ed to land in person, and aaeend-the faiil to address 
the garrison ; bat from this he was dissnaded by 

• Nesfooi-asitiuitedcmdieN.E. ifthOcao^NviwKk^vsA 
k a Gonsecnited place, like Mafsngs, iotroetXi ^k^>QJ* 
w±tere the eeremoaj of Tooge wts v^TiomwA. Kv ^<5 
fooare tevend houses consecrated io dSSef eiiV %Q«&. 



154 TKANSACTI0N8 AT 

his chiefe* He then determined to go near to 
the shore in a small canoe which they had in tow, 
and be led along tlie shelf by his matabooles, wadf 
lag through the water, which was scarcely three 
feet deep. To this also his friends objected, being 
apprehensive that, if he left the large canoe in the 
way he proposed, and approached too near the 
beach, his. temper might be so worked into a rage 
by the insults of the natives, as to indnce him to 
rash on shore, and ran the risk of being killed* 
But Finow replied, by way of apology for not 
yielding to their adnce, that it was the part of a 
brave man to keep himself perfectly cool and col- 
lopted when insulted, and that he was resolved to 
act up to Uiis character. Matters being thus ar* 
Tanged, he went into the small canoe, and was led 
along by the matabooles. As they drew near to 
the shore, many of the natives called out to them, 
saying a number of things in derision. One threw 
them a piece of yam, andther a piece of pork, 
and telliog them it was the last they should get 
firom Vavaoo, * inquired whether they were not 
quite tired of living up<m the scanty allowance of 
tiie Hapai Islands, lliey next threw them a piece 
of gnatoo, advising them, in the most friendly 
manner, to wear that, instead of scrubbing their 
skins with the coarse mats of Hapai ; and, as this 
was all they meant to give them, they were to 
tear it in small pieces, divide it among them, and 
each wear a rag. During all these insults, the 

I 

* Vavaoo is famous for good yams, and great quanti- 
fies of bogs^ as well as for gtuitoo of a finer quality, and 
better printed ; the tree froia ^\&di ^3[M\snxktki^ colour is 
P^otnired being v«ry acaice, and 't«r^ Voicrow, «x 



THE TONGA ISLANDS*. 155 

king, who was of a very irritable temper, con- 
trary to the expectation of every one, kept him- 
self perfectly cool, and said nothing. ^Vhen he 
had arrived near enough to address them conve- 
niently, he made a speech of about an hour's 
length, in which, witli a wonderful degree of art 
and eloquence, he endeavoured to persuade them 
that he was perfectly innocent of the death of 
Toobo Nnha ; and that he should be exceedingly 
sorry if their mistaken notions of his sentiments 
and conduct should occasion a war with Vavaoo. 
He told them how much he loved and respected his 
aunt, and how unhappy he should be, if the late un- 
fortunate affair, which he could neither well foresee , 
nor help, should occasion a quarrel with her. No- 
thing grieved him more, he said, than that his best 
intentions shoxdd be thus regarded with suspicion ; 
but he hoped that their candour and liberality, upon 
a little cool reflection, would lead them to place that 
confidence in him, which his own consciousness of ^ 
upright intentions gave him reason to expect,- and 
he trusted that they would submit to his rule and 
government as formerly. To this, some of the 
Vavaoo chiefs replied, that they should be willing 
enough to acknowledge him king, as formerly, 
provided he would reside altogether at Vavaoo, 
and interdict all communication with the Hapai 
people, among whom there were many designing 
chiefs, of whose treacherous policy they had good 
reason to be afraid. Or, if he did not choose to 
remain altogether at Vavaoo, he might reside at 
Hapai, and they would send him annual trihu«ft.> 
88 tonal, upon condition tibat T«i\\5ftet V^^ x»ss^'^»5k 
chiefs, nor any of the peopVe oi 'ftw^^^^^^'^'^ 
VOL, I. . la ^ 



156 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Vavaoo under any pretext whateoever ; for, as they 
were qnite tired of dbtnrbances and insurrectians, 
they heartily wished to keep away all who were 
promoters of discord, all ambitions and discoiitent- 
ed chiefis ; all, in short, whose tempers were too 
fickle to love a peacefxd and qniet life ; and, as to 
the large fortress, they declared it had been con- 
struct^ merely for ^^e purpose of self-defence, 
finow then took up the discourse, stating that he 
could not give his consent to terms which wero 
inomaustent with his dignity, as supreme goyemor 
berth of Hi^ai and Yavaoo, and that it was exceed- 
ingly hard he diould suffsr for the rashness and 
impolicy of others, and that they should cease to 
put iJiat confidence in his wisdom and justice 
which he hoped he had always merited. He then 
repeated the arguments in favour of his innocence, 
and, in conclusion, urged as a proof of his love and 
affection for the people of Vavaoo, the readiness 
-with which he formerly joined their late beloved 
chief, in the assassination of Toogoo Ahoo, by this 
means freeing Vavaoo and all the Tonga islands 
of a tyrant. Although afterwards, he added, the 
Vavaoo people from a mistaken notion, had op- 
posed his progress in the same good cause, from 
his authority had they not received Toob6 Nuba, 
a good and a wise chief, who, having since fallen 
a sacrifice to the ambition and malice of others, 
ought they on that account to forego their reliance on 
the love and affection which they had hitherto so 
ccmspicuously shown them ? << But, as you seem 
disposed,'' said he, ^< to live in idleness and luxury, 
I will go and reside axncnig «k moi^ mnxvl^ ^^^le," 
^'^d proaecxkte war against ibe Vi^wi*^<A T^tl^^^^ 
In reply to all this, they aigun wssos^ \mbl ^ 



THS TONGA I8LANI>5. 157 

their love and respect for him as an individualy bat, 
as they were determined to live freoy they would 
neither propose nor accept of any other t^rms. 
The king then ordered his matabooks to conduct 
him to his canoe, and, turning towards the Va- 
▼aoo people, said, ^< Live, then, among yourselyes 
in idleness, and we will return to HapaL '* 

Daring the time that Finow was addressing the 
VaTBOO people, the matabooles and warriors that 
suiTounded his canoe (among whom was Mr Ma- 
riner) appeared nrach moved, and several shed 
tears; for his powers of persuasion were such, that, 
in defending his own cause, he seemed to be the 
most worthy, the most innocent, and the most un- 
justly used. On this account the greater chiefs 
and old matabooles of Vavaoo remained in the for- 
tress, fearing to listen to his arguments, lest, being 
drawn aside by the power of his eloquence, they 
might mistake that for truth which was not, and 
even lead the young and ardent warriors into an error. 

The fortress, on the top of a steep rising ground, 
presented a most formidable and warlike appear- 
ance. Its extent seemed enormous ; and the tops 
of the white reeds, which were seen at a distance 
above the banks of red clay, being strongly illumi- 
nated by the sun, represented to the imagination 
of Mr Mariner the spears and javelins of ancient 
heroes, drawn up in battle array. On the top of 
the banks a number of warriors, armed with clubs 
and spears, were running to and fro, with fine light 
streamers,* full thirteen feet long, attached to their 
heads and arms, which, floating m iVsfe ^^n^xA^^^- 
duced a most romantic efEecX. 

• These streamers consist o£ iVve ^xvcTjvecc\stwvia 'sJctv^'^'* 
cff'^am the under side of tVie cocoa.-TV>iX\ft«'^« 



156 TRANSACTIONS AT 

The king and his matabooles being now return- 
ed to their canoe, the expedition proceeded oat of 
the' inlet, and arrived shortly at a small island, on 
which they landed, and stripped it of almost all its 
cava root. It is here proper to mention, that all 
the islands adjacent to Yavjaoo were deserted by 
order of Toe Oomoo, that the people might be 
more safely situated in or near the fortress, in case 
of an invasion. The three canoes afterwards pro- 
ceeded a little farther onward, and put in for the 
niglit al ft small island, called Hoonga, about two 
miles from YaTaoo. The next morning they re- 
sumed their voyage, and in the afiemoon reached 
Haaaoy the nearest of the Hapai Islands. 



THE TONGA ISLAND^. 159 



CHAPTER VI. 

The day after the return of the expedition, tlie 
gods were invoked in the usual way, and the ora- 
cular answer given was, to proceed immediately 
to war against Vavaoo. All things being in readi- 
ness, the following morning the king embarked 
with the whole of his forces, about 5000 men, be- 
sides 1000 women, in ^hy large canoes, contain- 
ing also the four carronades, ammunition, and every 
thing necessary for a vigorous attack upon the 
strong fortress of Vavaoo. Towards evening, they 
arrived at Fonnooi-fboa, one of the small islands in 
the neighbourhood of Vavaoo, whence Finow de- 
spatched four canoes, manned with select warnors, 
up the inlet, towards the fortress, with orders to 
kill whomsoever they could. They succeeded in 
killing three men, and severely wounding a fourth, 
whom, with the ^ee dead bodies, they brought 
to Finow. Killing these three men, in the first 
attempt upon the enemy, was by no means to be 
considered a trifling advantage ; for it was supposed 
to augur the protection of the gods, and great fu- 
ture success. 

Early in the morning, the Hapai fleet proceed- 
ed up the inlet to Neafoo, x\ie toTft^<3R>Xft.^ "s*^^*^ 
^merly mentioned, where tW^ ^a5A^^ ^ts^'cc^ 



IM TRAIfSACtlOIIS AT 

leariiif the women in the canoes* The four cv- 
ronriwr Trnrn planted Of^KNOte die iioiMe of a 
ndJi^UKmring nudfiy ready to be drawn up the Inl: 
lowing monung to ik» foiUoiii which was ab el 
three mileB off; ^and the day was spent in setding 
and airata^ng sundry matters. During the ni|^ 
which was exceedingly daik, a conadmMe degi e i 
of alarm was exdted by two or three of the enemy, 
who apraoachedy and threw a spear am<mg a nwa- 
,ber of rSnow^s people, asleep near the boose. ll 

' fMjH>DnuJi however, to strike a bdndle of BpefMM 
that wafe placed iipriglitagai^ andythmT- 

ing it down, lircwianejt. audi a noise^ that seiMlil 
of Ab men were awaken ed hf i^ wlm^ lhinkflii| 
ihat die ' main body idf the enemy wiM coia^ 
down ifpon ihem, li^ian to run liwtiy* At Imi 
momeiot, one oY them, more comngeoos than tlM 
rest, snatching up a piece of lighted wood, ap- 
plied it to the touch-hole of one (oi the guns, 
which instantly went off, and produced such 'in 
'effiBCt on the enemy, that.no more was heard oi 
hfan littt nMrt. ' TUs certainly was a bold act fbi 
a man who nad never bdbre fired a g«tn in his life, 
and might in the worst cm htfVe been producdvc 
of the best effects ; lor, if the enemy had come ii 
considerable numbers, as was at the moment fislse- 
ly imagined, and this man had not had such pre- 
sence of mind, all FlnoVs army might have been 
put completely to the rout, their guns taken from 
diem, and a vast number of them slain. As it was, 
the report of the gun, awakening all who were yet 
atfscp^ induced such a degree of constematioA as 

^i^^emsefy M be cbncm^Qi. TV«^ taninalldi- 
'^ HTBa «aiiie time W«re iBh«i l«w» ''iwb^ « 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 161 

ficiently calmed to permit their retnnu The 
man who performed this exploit received much 
praise and respect for lus bravery. As to promo- 
tion, it is a thing not known among them ; for, as 
will be explained hereafter, no man can hold a 
rank in society which he is not bom to ; and as to 
other modes of reward, the merit of a good or 
brave action, together with the admiration and re- 
spect which it creates, is considered its best re- 
ward, mJess the party makes a point to boast of 
it, and then his merit is set almost at nought. 

Early the following morning, Finow divided his 
army into three grand divisions: the right wing 
was commanded by Toobo Toa, the left by Lioo- 
fau, chief of Haano, and the centre by himself. 
The guns were allotted, two to the centre, and one 
to each flank, and were managed by seven Eng- 
lishmen, besides Mr Mariner and a black native 
of South America, taken by the Port au Prince 
in one of her prizes. Matters being thus arranged, 
and Fino^ having repeated the orders he had for- 
merly issued, viz. that his men should keep them- 
' selves perfectly steady, and not attack the enemy 
. till they were quite dose to them, — the army be- 
gan its march towards the garrison. After four 
or five hours interrupted progress, 6wing chiefly 
to the weight of the guns and the badness of the 
road, they arrived before the fortress, on the banks 
of which a vast number of the enemy were as- 
sembled. As they approached, a shower of ar- 
rows was discharged upon them ; but finow or- 
dered a mataboole to advance forward and req;ae&t 
an armistice, that each paarly tca^X. \»^^ \^c^^ ^ 
what Mends and relationft xYie^ mv^^V^s^ ^wiasswi^ 



162 TRAKSACTIONS AT 

their opponents ; * which being granted, a nrnn* 
ber caiM oat of the garrison to take a fiarewell of 
their relatiyes, — peihaps the last frrewel] of those 
Vfbo were aboat to fi^t against diem. Here en« 
sued a moving scene ; many tears were shed on 
both sides, and many a last embrace eicchanged. 
This affecting spectacle had lasted about two 
hours, when a circumstance occurred, unfortnuate 
enough in its consequences, but which might ha?e 
tum^ out still more so* One of the enemy, up- 
on the outer bank of the fcnlTess, wantonly shot 
an anrow at Mr Mariner, but which missed him, 
and stuck in a tree dose «t his elbow. He imme- 
diately turned about, and, discovering the man who 
discharged it, levied his musket, on the impulse 
<of the moment, and shot him dead upon the spot. 
Instantly the enemy soimded the war-whoop, and 
all was uproar and confusion. The king, not un- 
derstanding the cause, was in a violent rage with 
Mr Mariner, and sent a man to demand his mus- 
ket, which the latter, feeling himself aggrieved, 
peremptorily refused, finow, by this time, be- 
coming somewhat more calm, and learning the 
true cause of the disaster, was speedily reconciled. 
In the mean time the enemy, conceiving this to be 
a piece of treachery, returned to their enttench- 

* In a civil war at these islands, as well as at other 

places, it often happens that sons have to fight against 

their fathers, and brothers against their brothers; but what 

renders this circumstance still more ccnnmon at Tonga, is 

the adherence to an old established custom, whidi binds 

every man in honour to join the cause of that chief on 

whose island he happens to be at the time the war is de- 

clared, unless some circaniBlance, a& "^^ivt^cxAw -tc\aiion- 

«6^p hetween great men, cngtgieft tihe cVCv^S cA iflcvft \<s\«»^ 

upoa e«nieit request, to j^ve bimWbe^Vf x» A«?e»tx- 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 163 

ments and assailed the besiegers with showers of 
arrows. The king now ordered the great guns to 
open a fire upon the fort, but they seemed to do 
little or no injury to the works, owing to the height 
of the place and the strength of the embankment. 
Several, however, were kiUed who ventured out- 
side of it. The firing had lasted, with occasional 
intermissions, for six or seven hours, when a 
considerable number of the enemy were per- 
ceived coming out of the fencing, and sheltering 
themselves behind the banks, with the evident in- 
•tention of sallying forth. Upon this the king or- 
dered all his men to sit down, and to remain per- 
fectly quiet and steady, although the enemy should 
advance quite close to them, till they received his 
further orders to rise up and rush upon them. 
They accordingly sat down. A party of fifteen or 
sixteen now came down from the fort, and seven 
or eight of the Haptu people ran forward to skir- 
mish with them. Ono of the advanced party of 
the enemy came up to within fifteen or sixteen 
yards of the carronade, of which Mr Mariner had 
the charge, and there stood, brandishing his spear 
in a threatening attitude. Mr Mariner immediate- 
ly fired the gun at him, but the moment the match 
was applied the man fell flat on his face, and the 
shot missed him. The moment after he sprung np 
again, and advanced forward to within ten paces of 
the gun, dancing and making sundry warlike gesti- 
culations. He ^en brandished and threw his-spear, 
intending it to enter the gun, but it struck against 
the muzzle. Mr Mariner, astcmished at the bold- 
ness and presumption of tins vromot) ^^^^ ^^^Xisi- 
mined to puiiiali him for his TBaW<^j&^) «xA ^K^^^i^^- 
j'ogly levelled his musket ; \>ut, joaX «& V«i ^^»» V^" 



I6i TRANSACTIONS AT 

ling the trigger, an arrow Btmck the barrel of the 
|Heo0» a3id caofed him to mns his aim. The war- 
lior then shouted aloud, and returned with all 
qpeed to the fortress. Here the reader will no 
doubt recollect the bravado of a man who assumed 
Uiename of Fanna Fonnooa, and declared that he 
would advance boldly up to a gun and throw his 
flpear into the mouth of it, by way of expressing his 
contempt for this instrument of warfore. This 
warrior was the man ; and no doubt he would 
haye paid dearly for his temerity, had Mr Mariner 
been prepared for him, but lumng treated that 
threat as an idle boast, he had altogether forgotten 
the drcumstanoej and did not again reflect an, it 
till after it was ot^ . 

Hie main body of the enemy was still stationed 
behind the banks, upon places cut for them to 
stand on, so that they were defended breast high^ 
and had an opportunity of discharging their arrows 
in abundance, without the risk of receiving a shot 
in return. After a time, however, they came forth 
from their stronghold, and assembled on the out- 
ride, forming themselves quickly into three divi- 
sions, .the same as Finow's army. Most of the 
greatest and bravest warriors stationed themselves 
in the left wing, with the view of descending, with 
all their concentrated power, on Finow's right 
wing, commanded by Toob6 Tea, along with whom 
were the other principal men that had assassinated 
Toobo Nuha, six or seven in number. Against 
each of these, twenty of the enemy's left wing had 
orders to Uirow their spears, at a signal to be given^ 
without directing theii altecLtvou ^particularly to 
^aiy one else^ eadi party oi Vweti\^\»BN\\i%%\\i^^ 
<Hit iDg man. Theae iM*l«t»VM?rfli!^\s«««^ «twsv'^^, 



THE TONGA ISLANDS* 165 

and baying stationed themselves outside the bank 
as above stated, the whole advanced slowly and 
steadily forward. Finow s men still remained seat- 
ed on the ground, according to the orders that had 
been given them, except a few who danced before 
them, by way of showing their contempt for the 
enemy, and of provoking them to hostilities* Mr 
Mariner requested Finow to order these men in, 
that a cannonade mi^t be opened upon the enemy ; 
but the king objected, stating, that as they ventur- 
ed forward in an open body, he would receive their 
attack, and fight them upon equal terms ; that these 
gpjoa gave him too great an advantage, such as he 
«comed to take ; that it was more honourable to 
fight them man to man, than to use against them 
arms that were rather fitted for the hostilities of 
spirits than of men ;* at the same time he returned 
his thanks for the advantages formerly derived 
from the use of these weapons, which he tiiought 
well calculated for the destruction of forts. 

The enemy now advanced within thirty paces, 
and threw their spears. Instantly the Hapai army, 
too eager to remain longer quie^ sprang up, and, 
rushing upon their foes, a close engagement com- 
menced, which was obstinately maintained for a- 
bout an hour, when the enemy were repulsed, and 
beaten completely back into their fortress. It was 
now twilight, but the Hapai warriors pursued them 
to their very doors. One chief in particular, Chioo- 
looa, although he was wounded in the breast by a 
five-barbed spear, the shaft of which he had brokea 

• The ose of artillery seems to Vi«ve coxwc^^Vo "^^ 
imagination of Pinow the same idea of vxeTaefAEW*'^^* 
Anaaia inmred by the eTprcssioti <rf ouf ^wXV»^ — 
«* ^ttle dangerous to lest tbwa ftod^*) 



166 TRANSACTIONS AT 

off, rnslied even within the banks of their fortress, 
and there killed a man with his club. In making 
his retreat, however, he was wounded in the back 
by another spear, which, not bein^ barbed, he drew 
out, and ran back to his own party ; but the wound 
was mortal, and he lingered till the next day. This 
was the same chief, who, on the day of Toobo 
Nuba 8 burial, challenged any of the Vavaoo peo- 
ple to fight him. He came to battle, he said, with 
a kind of presentiment that he should be killed, 
ftnd was determined, therefore, to sell his life as 
dearly as ponible. It is not at all extraordinary 
that most of those who had assisted in the assas- 
sination of Toobo Nuba should ^1 victims, in tliis 
battle, to the vengeance of the enemy ; but it is 
very extraordinary that one among them, viz. La- 
too Ha, who, as may be remembered, insulted the 
body of Toobo Nuba, and upbraided him with the 
murder of his father, should altc^ther escape 
without a single wound worth mentioning; al- 
though, like the rest of the assassins, he was the 
object of their vengeance. The circumstance gave 
rise to the general opinion, that he was defended 
by the gods. He certainly fought with uncom- 
mon bravery, and this was the first time he had 
distinguished himself; but it must be kept in re- 
collection, that he was actuated by revenge. Dur- 
ing this battle, several of the Hapai women came 
to the scene of action, that they might be near 
their husbands to assist them if wounded. One of 
them, the wife of Toobo Toa (Toobo Alio M#e), 
was taken prisoner by the enemy, but extremely 
^eJl naed hy them ; and ^bouX. \^\«fc ^^^Va after- 
^^'^^rds she was sent back, itoxa m«A!vi«& «!l tw^^^, 
^ocaume alie was a great e^ Vs^v^^ ^^ -^^ ^'^^^ 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 167 

6f Tooitongsu Had she been of the king's ftumly, 
she would no doubt have been retained. 

Night was now set in, but, by Finow^s orders, 
a firing was kept up, merely with stones, to avoid 
a waste of shot^ because aim could not be taken. 
This lasted for about an hour. The king's mata- 
booles then made several speeches to the garrison, 
solicitiiig the Vavaoo chiefe to submit to the go- 
vernment of finow; but to this they objected, 
under the apprehension that they should afiter- 
wards be killed by the treachery of the king or of 
Toobo Toa. . Finow then addressed them, threat- 
ening to remain there the whole night, and the 
next day to set about building a fort opposite 
theirs, and to keep up the war until they either 
^Ided or were destroyed. Shortly after this, 
however, he gave orders to his men to repair as 
silently and as speedily as possible to Ne^oo ; 
thus deceiving the enemy, to prevent them cutting 
off his retreat. The guns being ^ven in charge 
to some of the principal warriors, with men under 
their command to drag them along, they swore 
heartily at all guns, and all Englishmen, and want- 
ed to know why they were not lighter ; or at least, 
since they had ingenuity enough to make the guns, 
why they had not made legs for them to walk up- 
on. Being arrived at Neafoo, the king, his ciuefs, 
roatabooles, Mr Mariner, and some of Ae Eng- 
lishmen, went on board the canoes to pass the 
night. Mr Mariner now, as well as in numerous 
other instances, foimd the advantage of having an 
adopted mother, by whom he was provided with 
plenty of good food, consisting o€ c^^VrA. ^^;«s£»^ 
ripe heDanaa, and raw fiah. ^ 

♦ The idea of eating raw ftsU \% not o^e cA Si^B V»sX x^- 

VOL. I, O 



168 TRANSACTIONS AT 

Next morning, after the men had refreshed 
themselves, armied parties were sent out to cut 
reedfl^ for the pnrpose of building a fortress at 
NelUbo ; and whilst others were employed in cBg- 
ging a ditch about fourteen feet wide and ten feet 
deep, finow and his principal chiefe remained to 
lay oat the plan. The spot for this fortress was 
80 situated, that one side stood upon the sea-shore, 
on a steep rocky bank, and therefore required no 
further defence ; for the enemy had no large canoes, 
having broken up all they had to make small ones, 
attd with these it would' be imprudent to venture 
as fer as Neafoo. In the course of the day the 
fending and ditch were tolenbly well completed, 
so that the following night the greater part of the 
army slept on shore. But they were not without 
alarm ; for about midnight, a small party of the 
enemy having come down to reconnoitre, looked 
through the openings of some part of the fencing 
that was not quite finished, and seeii^ several c^ 
the men sitting round a fire conversing together, 

TcMttg to the imagixudoii ; and we an too readily dis- 
posed to b«Ueve» that nothing but ezceaaiye bimger could 
render this species of food at all palatable. Hence Yoy- 
^ers, on witnessing this act among the natives of these 
islands, have reasonably sopposed them to be some of the 
lower orders much distressed for want of food (vide La- 
billardiere*s VoyageJ 5 but the fact is, raw fish is a very 
palatable diet, and is accordingly eaten as a matter of 
choice, not of necessity. Being strongly assured of this 
fact by Mr Mariner, 1 made the trial, and repeated it se- 
veral times upon mackarel, salmon, andturbot, and found 
the assertion perfectly correct All the preparation ne- 
cessaryy is to take off the skin, and wash the fish with a 
I/ttle salt water; it will then tasta a& relishing as the oys- 
ter, and very similar to it. If Yr« wX ^9» ffjtMa x«:H ^'wV^ 
^^oOier fisb? 



THS TONGA ISLANDS. 169 

they threw seyeral spears, which wonndeil many, 
and struck all with a panic. The whole garrison 
was instantly in a state of confusion ; and a great 
nomber so iar lost their presence of naind, as to 
eodeaYour to make their escape on board the car 
noes. In this attempt, foi^etting that it was low 
water, they leapt from off the hanks, and fell upon 
the shelf of rocks below^ in consequence of which 
seyeral of them had broken arms and legs, and 
sundry contusicNos, whidi, together wiUi the fright, 
producing in some of them universal spsem (te- 
taons *), caused their dea^ a day or two after- 
wards. In about a quarter of an hour the alarai 
perfectly subsided, and they passed the rest of the 
night quietly. 

During the following day the fencing was com- 
pleted, and a second ditch planned round the for- 
mer. This, however, was to be without any fenc- 
ing, that the guns might be brought to bear more 
readily upon the enemy, in case they should make 
a descent upon Neafoo. This ditch was to be 
eighteen fieet wide, and about ten deep. In thnee 
days it was dug, and the fortress completed. In 
the mean time the canoes wene hauled up withio 
the fencing, but no active operatioas were eflbftted 
on either side. Four or ive women, however, 
revolted from the enemy, and brought intbrmalaon 
that the chiefs of Vavaoo, having now revenged 
themselves on most of Toobo Nuha's murderers, 
had come to the resolution of waiting a little time 
without having recourse to any offensive measures, 

* Thdr mode of treating thU di&e«Aft, «xAS^^x %\iK»iMb. 
in Mianedmes curing it,. wiU be xeXaXfc^ -wcAst >!» ^x^>g«»- 



170 TRANSACTIONS AT 

with a view of ascertaining what Finow*s real in- 
tentions were. 

The fortress being now quite completed, and 
the guns stationed, one at each of tbe foor en- 
trances, of which there were two in front on the 
inland side, and one on each of the other two 
sides, Finow gave orders that a strong party 
shoald go forth early in the morning, towards the 
enemy's fortress, and destroy all tiie plantations 
they conld come at ; but in case of an attad^ to 
make their retreat as speedily as possible. In the 
afternoon they returned laden with yams, plan- 
tains, &c« ; but having met with a sadden attack 
from the enemy, had lost severed of their men* 
They however discovered a large field of fine yvoB 
nearly full grown, but so well defended, they could 
not with prudence attempt it. Finow therefore 
resolved to remain quiet the following night, lest the 
enemy should be lying in wait for him, but the night 
after to proceed with a strong party, and plunder 
this plantation* In- the mean time, a young chief 
ramited to dM enemy, and communicated Finow*8 
ittientioiM^ wvth certain additional details, which, 
WiMfer Alee, vtrftd to raise him in the opinion 
if'Aeiiflnem^ md establish his credit with them. 
OfWflBid alwfe 'tlw actual truth, he informed them, 
that his own father Lioofau was to remain behind 
in the fortress, with a small party to defend it, 
but tbat, being secretly an enemy to Finow, he 
would without doubt readily yield up the place 
to them. Upon the strength of this informa- 
tion they laid their plan accordingly. A large 
party of warriora, well armed, were to conceal 
themselves in a thick wood at ivo ^reat distance 
^om the Seld of yams, through wVvic^iv ^o^^^w»- 



THE tONCA tSLAlTDS. 17l 

ed a road leading from Finow's coh. There they 
were to lie down (m the ground, and coyer them- 
selves with branches, &c. and as soon as Finow's 
army had passed, to cut off their retreat. At the 
same time another strong party was to advance 
upon Neafoo, and take advantage of the supposed 
treacherous disposition of Lioofau. 

Finow having arranged his plan, set off very 
eaiiy in the morning with the far larger part of his 
men, leaving the remainder under the commabd 
of Lioofau to take care of the ooh. Very fortU' 
nately for flnow, before he had advanced far, he 
met a man who had deserted from tlie enemy, and 
who informed him of their knowledge of his ex- 
pedition, their plan <^ frustrating his object, as 
well as the alleged treachery of Lioofau. The 
king upon hearing this, before he advanced a step 
ibrther, ordered Lioofau into immediate confine- 
ment, with a stix>ng guard over him ; which being 
done, he proceeded towards the fortress of Felle- 
toa, and, taking advantage of the information given 
by the deserter, actually hemmed in the very par- 
ty that would otherwise have done the same to 
him. These finding themselves, contrary to their 
expectations, surrounded by Finow's army, and 
seeing no other resource than to endeavour to 
force their way through, made the attempt, and 
succeeded, after a hard struggle, in which sixty of 
the enemy were killed, and fourteen or fifteen of 
the Hapai people. The enemy now retreated to- 
wards, the field of yams, to join those stationed 
there for its defence ; and Finow, thinking it ha- 
zardous to make a farther attack, retired back \«^ 
4m Neafoo, taking with him the ieaA\)Q&ftA« '^IW 

o2 



172 TRANgACTIONS AT 

Other pirfy of the enemy thai had, in the mean 
while^ advanced to Neafoo, finding the place not 
under the conmiand of lioofen^ sospected some 
deception, and made a speedy retreat. 

Tfie king and his army having arrived at their 
fortress, the sixty hodies were shared oat to the 
different gods that had houses dedicated to tibem 
within th^ place. The names o^ these gods were 
Tali y Tooho, Tooi fooa Bolotoo, Lan file Toiig% 
Toobo lalo Tonga, and ChenitacaJa. The two first 
only are imagmary beings, the others are sonk of 
dejmrted chieJEs^ the last of all is a goddess, the 
soul of a female chief of that name. This being 
done, the bodies were carried away, and laid be- 
fore the honses of the different gods to whom they 
were allotted ; where, after tibey had remained 
three or four hours, those who had left relations 
among the garrison of Neafoo were carried away 
and buried ; and the remainder, nine or ten in 
number, were conveyed to the water side, and 
there disposed of in different ways. Two or three 
were hung up on a tree ; a couple were burnt ; 
three were cut open from motives of curiosity, to 
see whether their insides were sound and entire, * 
and to practise suigical operations upon, hereafiter 
to be described ; and, lastiy, two or three were cut 
up to be cooked and eaten, of which about forty 
men partook. This was the second instance of 
cannibalism that Mr Mariner had witnessed ; but 

* It is a firm belief with the people, that if a man in- 
fringes upon the Taboo (see p. 141}, or commits any aa- 
cnlege, lus liver, or some other viscus, is liable to beoHne 
eblarged and scirrhous. Therj Xhexefore often open dead 
ff^^diee out of curiodty, to see \t Vhej \»?i^>B«fttv. ^ARx&ft- 
gioi» in their lifetime. The tM!d^«A Q^ vViev^ \^ASki^&«K^ 
Particularly sufcyect to scirtUou* lumoun. 



THX TONGA ISLANDS. 173 

the natiyes of these islands are not to be catted 
cannibals on this accoont. So far from its being a 
general practice, when these men retomed to Nea- 
foo after their inhuman repast, most persons who 
knew it) particularly women, avoided them, say- 
ing, '* I^-wh6 moe ky*tangata, " Away I you are a 
man-eater. 

The bodies being thus all disposed of, Fmow 
began to make inquiries respecting the alleged 
treaBOQ of Lioofiui, and finding no one capable of 
urging any thing against him, and he solemnly 
declaring his innocence, and stating that his son 
must have invented this tale to answer some pur- 
pose with ike enemy; moreover, having always 
borne a good charscter, and been well beloved 
by his men, and believed to have been always 
firmly attached to the interests of flnow, he 
was set at liberty, and restored to his post. — 
The day after, Fiuow ordered the ceremony of 
drinking cava to the priest of his tutelar god Toobo 
Total, by way of gratitude for the late victory. 
This ceremony is exactly the same as that of in- 
voking a god through the medium of his priest, 
and consists merely in the customary form of sit- 
ting down to make cava in the presence of a priest, 
he presiding at the head of the ring. In this in- 
stance, after the cava, pork, &c had been served 
out, one of the matabooles, in a few words, thanked 
the god in the person of the priest for the late sig- 
nal victories. The priest, in answer, after wail- 
ing for another dish of cava, declared that finow 
would at length succeed in his war against Felle- 
Um, but that this fortress waa noX. ^^ ^Xilcsrv^^ 
power be bad to contend m^iv, iot ^Saa 5Sfcfe^ ^ 
insamction were already aowuvtiXaMi o'^w^ «k«b^ 



174 TRANSACTIONS AT 

and uliliough Lioofau was perfectly innooent of 
what bad been allied against bim, Uiere was one 
at no great distance from bim for whom ao onicli 
conld not be said. Tbe god baving condescended 
to declare this, left his priest, and the latter arose 
and went away. The company then broke up, 
Finow pretending to take no notice of what the 
priest declared, not wishing the drcnmstanoe to 
be mnch noticed by others. 

Tbe following day, an adopted son of Fumv 
brought him secret int^ligence of baving baand 
that seyeral men had been sent off, at different 
times, by Mi^pa Haano, to the fortress of Feiie^ 
toa, to concert with the enemy on the sobject o£ 
revolt; and that this chief had the intention of 
doing what lAoofau. had been unjustly accused of^ 
and imprisoned for. The king immediately sent 
for Mappa Haano, who obeyed the summons, and 
came ^est up in mats, with green leaves round 
his neck (marks of humiliation and fear), attended 
by a priest. When they arrived opposite Finow's 
house, they sat down before it. Then the priest 
rose, and advancing nearer to Finow, wlio was 
seated just within the eaves of the house, he again 
sat down before him, and stated that Mappa Haano 
had requested his intermediation, to express for 
bim tbe sentiments of self-accusation with which 
he £elt himself ppfN*essed, and hii acknowledgment 
of the justice of his fate, if Finow should think 
proper to take away his life. The king rq>lied, 
that he did not mean to take away his life, for 
that it was not the custom at Tonga to kill those 
of whom one has no reason to be afraid, and that 
he did not think it worth hvi wV\V!m6 \a dKf^\xo^ % 
mere buiterBy (an insigni&cwitXmft^Y^ixvX^^stiiVifc 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 175 

should take other measurefi of punishment not lesi 
exemplary. He then desired the cnlprit to con- 
sider himself for the future as diyested of all power 
and rank — no longer to he the commander of men, 
hnt a single and unprotected individual ; that his 
chiefship from that moment was buH ; and that,* 
consequently, he was never more to take his seat 
as a chief, at his cava ceremonies. * A certain 
chief, who was present, observed to Finow, that 
if he sujOfered this man to live, although he was 
deprived of power, he might nevertheless, by per- 
nicioufl counsel, inspire other chiefs witli sentiments 
derogatory to the welfiare of HnoVs government. 
To which the king replied, that this was not a war 
between men, in whose success or ill success the 
gods took no interest, but one in which his tutelar 
god, Toobo Totai, presided in a particular mumer 
over his fortune 'and wetftie, and who wouM take 
care that such pernicious attempts, on the part of 
the disgraced chief, should not affect the other 
chiefs of his army, or, if they did, that he should 
be made acquainted with it by the priest. — The 
company now dispersed. After this period, Mappa 
Haano always wore mats as significant of his de- 
graded state. He seldom attended any public ce- 
remonies or assemblies, because it obliged him to 
sit along with the common people ; and he could 
not bgpook, on such occasions, to feel so much his 
inferiority to other chiefs who formerly were his 
equals. It roust not be supposed that he always 

* One who is bom a chief is alwayv a diief, and all 
who associate with him must, as a point oC T«&3ki|^^>x&^3a»?^> 
show bijD Che customary foruA of tewp^c^. ^xjxVs^ ^<5t«fc- 
quence cf this sentence, nobody wo>A^ «is»c«^»i "wvox 
Simppa Hmmno, 



176 TRAVSACTIONS AT 

wore these mats from pure humility, bat nther 
from fear, for bad he i4>peared without them, H- 
uov might haTe beep angry, and death tbe €on- 
saqnence. 

Then beiog now every day Bome desertioa or 
another from either army to the opposite one, tbe 
king iaraed orders that ever^ deserter from the 
enemy should be put to death, tbe same as if be 
bad been a deseiter fnm himselL This he did 
the better to avoid all communication between the 
two contending armies. Several oi Fmow's men 
Jiaving been, killed at diffenmt times, by three or 
four of the enemy, under the command <^ a warrior 
named Moteita^ a most expert and daring fellow, 
vi|o often ventured by night and early in ibe 
monuag cIom uptoih^ coh of Neafoo to kill any 
stragglers they could meet with. One morning a 
party of Finow's men, twelve or fourteen in num- 
ber, among whom was Mr Mariner, being out on 
a little eiLcursion, surprised four of the enemy, 
who were busily employed digging ma * in a pit. 
These they immediately laid hold of, and dragged 
out, to take them home prisoners. Imagining they 
had got Moteita and his followers, who had so 
often committed depredatioDs upon them, they re- 
solved to make a signal example of their prisoners. 
A young diief, however, objected to this measure, 
and. proposed that it would be better to decapitate 
them at once, and take their heads home. The 
plan was immediately assented to, but some one 
observing that they had no knives with them, an- 
other, casting his eyes upon the ground, remarked, 

* Ma is a tpecies of prepaxedi f ood^^ coi^^Un^ of brcad- 
^foit, or plantains, or b'y^M^ng^ *, Yronedi ioi «^ ^wk&\^jaA^« 
tintB under ground^ in order to iercBEoS* 



THX TOKGA ISLAKDB. 177 

there was something that would de as well ; md 
taking up a shell from a neighboming spot, where 
large pearl oysters had been eaten, he propoeed to 
proceed to work with snch as substitiztes for knives. 
This was immediately approved of, and the four 
mifortonate victims were taken in hand. It was 
in vain that they begged their livesy protesting 
that they were not the persons they had been 
taken for. In vain did Mr Mariner point oat tlie 
cruelty of the act, urging tliem at least to kill them 
speedily, and cut off their heads afterwards ; but 
to this remonstrance they only answered, that their 
prisoners deserved to be severely punished for the 
many atrocities they had committed; and as to 
killing them fint, and cutting off their heads after* 
wards, they diought it unnecessary trouble. This 
horrible piece of cruelty was accordingly commit* 
ted on the spot. They began the operation, (after 
having stripped themselves, to prevent their gar- 
ments getting bloody), by hagglteg at the back 
of the neck ; they then cut gradually round the 
throat, till they had got through every thing but 
the spine, which they divided by turning the head 
down, and giving it a violent twist. This done, 
they washed themselves, resumed tiieir ffnatoas, 
and proceeded with the four heads to the garrison. 
It was still early when they arrived, and tiiey 
found the king sitting with his friends on t^ makd 
drinking cava. The four heads were brought by 
different men, and placed upright in the middle of 
the circle witii their faces towards Ffatiow^ who re- 
turned his thanks (as customary) to tiiose who 
had killed them. Mr Marineit \\«n\&2^ %^»Kft^\sa&<^ 
self near Finow^ the lattec qaVlq^ \swsa ^^1 '^»«^ 
did not kiU them at once, yr'wYvoxA otX^'biw?) ^"^^ ''^'^ 



178 TRANSACTIONS AT 

beads. This question he asked, partly from motiyes 
of humanity, and partly to know why they took 
BO moch trouble about them. 

A few days after this event, Tooboo Boogoo, a 
certain priest, belonging to the colo of Felletoo, 
and who was a relation of Finow, having been 
consulted, regarding some matters of policy,' gave 
advice which appeared to the Vavaoo chiefs more 
consonant to finow's interests than their own, aiid 
they accordingly objected to it, declaring that he 
wanted to act a treacherous part in thus befriend- 
ing bis relation. Upon which he told them, that 
if they could place no credit in his word, nor con- 
fidence in his honesty, he was of no use to them, 
and therefore they had better kill him at once, or 
at least confine bun ;^-<n: had they a mind to be- 
have generously towards him, permit him to go 
away, and live with Finow. The chiefs replied^ 
they would take a little time to consider of it, but 
he did not think proper to wait their decision. 
He informed Finow of a design the enemy had of 
besieging him ; in consequence of which informa- 
tion, every preparation was made to put the for- 
tress in the best possible state of diefence. 

Some time now elapsed in expectation of the 
enemy's approach, but ^ere were no signs of 
them ; and Finow, in the meanwhile, came to a 
determination of making Vavaoo his place of con- 
stant residence. This he did for two reasons; 
first, because it was the largest and most fruitful 
of all his islands ; and, secondly, because by his 
presence he could better govern a people who ap- 
peared to be so little attached to his interests. It 
i>v« now the scarce time oi \lbie ^^os^wAXs^^VKk 
^prorisiom began to g;rcyw iAdlotX.. \x "w^ x^wq^- 



TUB tOKGA I8LAM09. 179 

sary, therefore, to despatch canoes to the Hapai 
Jslands for a fresh supply, that might last them till 
the season had so far advanced as to provide them 
with the vegetable produce of the surrounding 
country. A large canoe was therefore got ready, 
with orders to return with yam s and ma; taking 
an additional number of hands on board, to man 
another canoe which they were to bring back with 
them, laden in like manner. Several women and 
children also took this opportunity of going to 
Hapai to see their fiiends. One morning the ca- 
noe set s^il for one of the Vavaoo islands, called 
Ijuionga, mth the intention of remaining there 
during the nigfati and of departing again very early 
the following morning, to {Hosecute the voyage. 
Whilst here, however, the wind unfortunately 
changed, and they were under the necessity of 
remaining at Taoonsa several days. For the first 
two or t&ee days wey kept a good look-out, lest 
they should be surprised by the enemy, and at 
night slept <m . board the canoe ; but, not finding 
iJiemselves disturbed by any one, they at length 
relaxed ^ir vigilance, and slept on shore by large 
fires, in consequence of which they met with a sad 
disaster. On the fiftii night they had lighted 
their fires as usual, and the greater part had fiedlen 
asleep, when forty or fifty of the enemy's choicest 
warriors, commanded by Maccapapa, rushed sud- 
denly upon ' them. The enemy had heard from 
some stragglers, that this expedition to Hapai had 
been oUi^ad to remain at Taoonga. They accor- 
din^y put to sea in their small canoes, and, 
guided by the fires, fell upon those who were re- 
poaiag in imaginary fiecority, "VtViti \^ei<^\l doo^ 
VOL. /. p 



180 TRANSACTIONS AT 

they made an end of about eigfat-and-twenty ; die 
remainder escaped to the canoe, bnt not without 
much difficolty ; for their companions wbo hod re- 
mained to take care of it, being alarmed by 1^ 
uproar of this sadiden Mlack eitt shore^ pushiEMl; off 
into deep vhmri and thosei who miuie tfattir 
escape from the beaek were ^bfi^ed; to swim, se^ 
Toral of them being much woutided by speaift 
thrown an tbeui; Under; 4S&9^ of the darlaim^ 
they got off to A «eSghbouri^ isband ; Itti^ eufy 
in the momiiig,' the wind bei^miing more favour- 
aide, they piioeeed^ on their Toyage. In the 
meaoiiwhile, « man from the enem/s ganrison 
brought infortnation to Fhiow of the departure (rf 
Maccapapa to attack the Hapai ekpedkkm; • H- 
BOW immedktety ordered sevend krgie eanoee to 
put to sew i|i ptUsKit of iAil&Biy vHlIdh tMB tfpeedfl^ 
accomplished ; and in the course of a few homiB, 
coming up with Maccapapa*s canoes, they took ten 
of l^m. Many attempted to nnke theSip esca^^ 
to the shore; but being prevented by the krge 
canoes from proceeding to ^e regolar landing- 
places, they were under the necessity of ventur- 
ing their necks by climbing up steep rocks that 
rose almost perpendicularly from the water. In 
this attempt some foH and were killed, and Finow's 
men revenged. 

A fortmght now elapsed without any material 
circumstance occurring; although aknost every 
day there was some Uttle skirmish with the ea^ 
my, but which led to no particular result. At 
the end of this time, however, the canoes from 
Hapsd not being yet returned, Finow b^an to 
turn hm thoughts moie Bei\oxis\^^A>aK«ver towards 
^e^large field of y«ms )a«iloT^ «^^«iKOl ^. ^^ 



THE TOMOA ISLANDS. 181 

loade prcfMOBlioRs accordiDgly for an attack npon 
h, hoping that, if he did not succeed in procuring 
flome yvyna, Jbe should at least he ahle to bring the 
enemy to a gteperal engagement. With tibia view 
he picked out eighty of his choicest men, and 
gave fbepi ^rden jto conceal themselyeB, during 
tjhe night, in ^ tbic]^ ck>8e to the enemy's for* 
tcessy iaqd on one eide #f ihe road, while, in the 
ipeikatin^y wijBh«par0y of six hundred, he proceed- 
ed Vowwis Fdletoa. Having arrived within a 
quarter of .a mile of ihe fort, it being yet daiic, he 
look up Im staticm ine field of high grass, sitoated in 
91 vall^, which oould not be seen by the enemy. 
He dsken despatched 9 hundred men to dig up the 
yams, and fifty more, under the commuid of Hala 
Api Api, (an adopted son of the late Toobo Nuba), 
to the f<M!bres9> wiUi a view of eoaticing the enemy 
o«ft| jBnd Imding tbeiB beyond iSae ambuscade. 
The oiemy, however, kept close wi^in his en- 
trenchment. The £M)t was, there w«« not many 
men in the place, at least not great waniors, the 
rest having gone to another part of the island to 
lauadi a lai^ canoe, and bring it round to the 
garrison to break up for small ones. But as soon 
as the enemy discovered Hala Api Api, they sent 
down to their companions to inform them of what 
was going Sorwurd* They came as soon as they 
possibly could, but too late to save iibe yams. On 
arriving at the fort and seeing the field completely 
despoiled, they became dreadfully enraged, and 
rushed out in a body iq|»en Hala Api Api, who 
immediately retreated, with a design of drawing 
tbem beyond the two ambu^cWVeA. \sv ^v^<» Vs& 
Aemoet Juart, he suceeedod to \vva yjSs^m^* ^^>a.^- 
ed by their rage, and pu^ed owVj^ \««vi<& ^^ "^^ 



18S TRAN8ACTI01I8 AT 

Tenge, the VaTaooaos did not reflect on the pvo- 
bability of there behig eome atratageniy but con- 
tinued to follow, and he to retreat, till theypaaaed 
the first ambnah, where Finow lay oonoeided. 
They were £ut adyancing towards the aeoondy 
when Finow's men, too eager for oonqoeat, roia 
np and attacked them in ^ rear* Tlie Becond 
ambnsh, hearing the noise of tins attack, iaime- 
diately started np, and joining Hak Api Api, a 
hard and close fight was kept up fiir about a qoar- 
ter of an honr ; when the enemy, findmg thenn- 
sehrea too atn»|^y oppoaed, retreated towards tlie 
fortress, in whidi they took aheher^ hmg punned 
dose np to their doora by the Hqisii. w a niois . 
Having neovered themselTea a little firom their 
eonsteniatioii, they prapared to raaew the con- 
bat, and again sallied forth, and commenced a ge- 
naal engagement with spean and arrows, which 
lasted about three quarters of an honr; then again 
took shelter within their walls. In the finrt en- 
gagement the enemy had forty men killed, and 
Finow <mly two; — in the hik attack Uiey had 
only one man killed, and Finow none, though se- 
Teral died afterwards of their wounds; but this 
was only an engagement with arrows and i^>ears, 
which they are very dexterous in avoiding. Clubs 
were not used. Tlie enemy were upon a higher 
ground, where it would not have been prudent to 
have attacked them with the club, and risked the 
loss of their former advantages ; and the enemy 
were too much discouraged to venture into the 
plaiiL The day was so rainy that no muskets 
ceaJd be well need. In lihA luU affiiir^ Mr Mari- 

'Mr received an arnyw in \na ioQX> ^v^Oc^'^mM^. 

^t0 tfarmigh the broaAsai ipwl ^ ^fc. \RVK\Kac«j \v 



THE TONGA I&LANDX. IS3 

was not a bearded arrow, but the wound was, 
ncTertheless, a yery bad one ; for tbe weapon be- 
ing made of short splintering wood, it bn>ke in, 
and the Tonga surgeons not having the best in- 
struments in the world, pieces of wood were taken 
out irom time to time, by no better means than 
cutting down upon them with shaip shells, or 
bamboo, which rendered llie affiur rery tedious 
and painfipl. 

The Hapai army being retomed to Neafoo, 
Finow sow gave orders tliat no man should ven- 
ture out for some time, lest the vigilance and anger 
of the enemy h&ng now so strongly excited, some 
should fall a prey to their rashness ; but about a 
week afterwards, a warrior, named Havili, re- 
quested leave to go in a laige canoe, with an arm- 
ed party, to the north-west part of the island, to 
seenre a number of liogs, wuich the enemy kept 
there in a fencing, observing, that it would be but 
proper to relish the Vavaoo yams with a little Va- 
vBOo pork I Havili was a man remarisable for 
laying hold of every opportunity of undertaking 
secret expeditions by niglit ; and he was thought 
to have killed more men in his time than any other 
warrior. The king having granted him leave, he 
went on board a canoe, with forty stout men, and 
proceeded towards the place. The enemy, how- 
ever, had previously sent an additional force to 
take care of their hogs, thinking, very justly, that 
Finow might be encouraged to turn his attention 
to that quarter, from having met with such suc- 
cess in the field of yams. It happened, one night, 
that part of this guard, saxmtenn!^ ^&o«araX ^^os^^ *^6kfe 
beacbp perceived a large cano« cwava'^ \*y«"«t^ 



IM TRANSACTIONS AT 

them. They immediately sent word to their con 
panionsy and, separating into two parties, concea 
ed themselves on either side of the road leading 1 
the fencing. The canoe having reached the shon 
half the men landed with Haviti at their head, an 
proceeded towards the place where the hogs wei 
kept. They had no sooner passed the spot wfaei 
the enemy lay concealed, than the latter mslK 
ont, and attacked them in the rear so snddenl] 
and with snch efiect, that fifteen wfure qnickly dei 
patdied, the enemy onlylonng one man, who wi 
killed hy Htrifi. This warrior and his four n 
maining men efibeted their fscape to llieir comp 
mons in the canoe, and pwhed horn the than i 
qtdMj m poarible. As they were paddKng rt 
the enemy called ont to them in derinon, '^Whal 
yon wanted some pork, ^d yon ? — how do yc 
like yoor treat ? — ^hnt stay, here are some fine pi( 
for yon, ready killed" (alluding to the dead hi 
dies), *' why don't yon come and take them away? 
—hot HaVUi and his men, sorely discomfited, n 
tamed home without making any fiurth^r attemt 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 185 



CHAPTER VU. 

A Fiw days after HavilTs unBacceasftil attempt to 
aecore the enem/s hogs, one of Flnow's wives ran 
away from Neafoo. Being shortly missed by liie 
rest of the women, in searching for her, it was 
found that one of his son's wives had taken the 
same step, and it was supposed they had gone to- 
gether. When this was made known to tibe king, 
he left the fortress instantly, accoippanied by five 
or six men, and directed his coprse along the main 
road leading to FeUetoa, but without any soocess. 
He retnnied very much dgected, and sent to his 
aunty Toe Ooinoo (the chief of the enemy), re- 
questing to have his wife returned, staling, Uiat it 
was a war between men, and not women; but 
hb remonstrances had no effect. Tliese wo- 
men both laboured under the jealousy and ty- 
rannic influence of Moonga Toobo, Hnow's fa- 
vourite wife ; and, paiily to rid themselves of tiik; 
and partly to visit and live with relations whom 
they had in the opposite garrison, ihey made their 
escape, and taking a by-road near the seansho^. 
On the roormng of tfieir departure, Mr Mariner 
was at Bome distance frotn "^^si^fM^ ^tAsiRcwi^ 
Bhaddocks in a thicket : for, a\\\Mra!^ \«»^wi»v^ 
did not allow him to use at\v b.c>2W* rLex^v^x^-* ^^i* 



166 TRANSACTIONS AT 

now and then went abroad by the help of a stick. 
Being up in a tree, he heard a rostling noise in> 
tlie bushes below, and, directing his attention to 
the spot, was surprised to see one of Fmow'» 
wives. Prompted by curiosity, he came quickly 
down, and, seizing her by the arm, inquired what 
caused her to stray so far from the fortress, and 
to expose her person and her life to the insults 
and cruelty of the enemy. She replied, l^at she 
had only come out for a walk, and was going 
shortly to returja. To this account he objected* 
that it was too jbr, ^skd too dangerous a iralk for 
ber to take alone, with the risk of meeting Mor 
teita and his foUowera, who often concealed them-;- 
selves in those woods, and declared his suspiciq^ 
that she intended to run away. She immediately 
fell on her knees, clasped her hands, and begged 
and entreated laaost earnestly, that he ^yould not 
prevent her flight from the dominion of tyranny to 
the bosom of her relations ; and appealed most pa- 
thetically to his own feelings and affections towards 
his mother, or whatever relatives he might bav£ jn 
his own country, and representing how hard Bfitd 
cruelly severe it would be for any one to prevent 
him flying to them, if it were otherwise in his 
power. Being moved by the earnestness of her 
mnner, and the unfortunate circumstances of her 
fif|f|itji(^ he raised her up, ^nd promised not to 
U»lw£nn9.^4^ escape, nor to divulge the matter 
^ a^y {pit Jind gave her full liberty to proceed 
wtri^abfiijp^ vttf db tlN^ught proper. 

M^iiioipr -hidy lioil^rif.long time past, entertained the 
idipl §f aeiting ijpon several of the enemy's wo- 
J3%^^ wifQ watie in the habit ^ aas^mblin^ at a 
certain part of the inlet, to g^xW ^siW-^i «cAl 



THK to'nga islands. 187 

now that his wife had run away, lie was more iSbma. 
Bver encouraged to do this, hy way of vetaUation 
upon Toe Oomoo, for her detention. Hie plaoe 
where they procured this sort of fish, was upon a 
shelf of rocks, about a foot and a half deep at low 
water, that ran across the inlet at no great dis- 
tance from Felletoa. Upon this shelf they were 
accustomed to fish every day, wading throi^ the 
water. On these occasions, several men of thdr 
own party had frequently alarmed them by rush- 
ing out upon them, pretending to be the enemy; 
and had repeated thb so often, that, at length, 
they only hmghed at the joke, and ridiculed tiie 
idea of running away. One evening a party of 
Flnow's men, who had formed themselves for the 
eBpress purpose of making- an attack upon these 
women, set out in a canoe, and saijed to a part 
of the island where they conM land unohserved, 
and proceed to the spot where they were fish- 
ing, without any danger of discovery, on account 
of the high busies tbAt were there in abundance. 
Being arrived on the spot, at an appointed signal 
they rushed out upon the women, who immediate- 
ly set up a hearty laugh, taking them for their old 
friends, so fond of a joke ; but, when they saw 
two or tiiree knodked down with clubs, they ran 
away as Hast as their strength and the resistance 
of the water would kit them, and die men after 
them in full pursuit. There were thirty of them, 
of which number five were killed, and thirteen 
taken prisonen, tJie other twelve esoqping safe to - 
the opposite shore. In this affiur the wife of 
Finow^s son was very nearly retsksn. ^Rx«fiL%(^ «sv- 
ooediogBwiit through the vnX^x^ V3v^A<^^> ^bbi^ 
Ifo 70110^ chief in pursuit o^ Yvwv exetXfc^ Vvov^^ 



168 TRANSACTIONS AT 

SO mvcli to overtake her, although he was near 
enom^ to knock her down with his club, ihat he 
afiipJly fell thoongh fatigue. It must, however, 
)ie said in fitvour of the chief, that the weight oJP 
his dob waeja great disadvantage, whereas his 
lovely fti^ve ran without any ineumbrancey for, 
ifk bier endeavour to quicken her pace, her gnatoo 
j(dress) became loose, and foil inm her waist. 
This was the only time jthat she looked back, from a 
s^nse of naodeety, to see if it was reco^remble, but 
Ae was under the necesuty of pursuing hep: flight 
^tfithoi^t ii. The thirteen prisoners iprere condqc- 
ted to Nesfoo, though finof^r had ^en orders 
that all that should be taken should be Idlled.opi 
the iqK>t. The captops siwed At^ liyei^ however, 
partly from n^rf^Pf tomipi^y «nd partly from 
those of -jmit^ i^ 4^ couVl employ them 19 
lUAkiiBir.WMo^ ^) ^^^i^ ^y arrived at Nef^- 
foo^ a strong djyspute arosia between soveral rela> 
tions of the prisoners, and those who bad takep 
them ; H^ former .arguing that they had a claim 
tfit the -w^iMeiB, ^ccardiag to the old Tonga custom, 
whiofa decrees, that all perapns shall be in t)ie ser* 
vice of their older and superior relations, if thos< 
r^latfopB think pr<i|>er to employ them : the cap 
jbon>-oa the other hand, strenuously grounded the 
elaims on the right of conquest. The dispute n 
very high, and they referred it to Finow, who i 
pU^, that he shoidd not interfere in it, and tb 
might settle it themselves as well as they cov 
for they had no right to bring the prisoners tb 
.to create disturbances, but should have demote 
them according to his Qcdftc«. At length he 4 
dfitfcended to g^ve bia o^^VoiXt va. ^^nix ^^ *: 
Proper n^athod would be, xm^ex 1^%^ ^xcns 



THB TOirOA ISLANDS. 189 

ces, to cut each woman in two, and giye one lialf 
to her relation, and the other to the captor. The 
aflGsdr, however, was amicahly settled, Tnthont hav- 
ing recourse to such hloody measures — somd heing 
given up to their relatives, and others retained, 
upon terms mutually agreeable to all parties. 
About this time the two long expected canoes ar- 
rived from Hapai, laden with provisions ; having 
been detained partly by contrary winds, and part- 
ly by the people* going to visit their relatives at 
different islands. 

It has already been mentioned nMre ihttn once, 
l9iat places which hare been consecrated j either by 
express declaration, or by the burial' of great dnefey 
are forbidden to be the scene of wa^, and that it 
would be highly sacrilegious to attack an enemy, 
or spill his blood within their confines. ThSa cir- 
cnmstance, however^ occurred a few dStys afVerihe 
dispute about the female prisonevs ; the particulars 
of it are as follow : — Falatafi (hMSbet of the war- 
rior Hsffli) went out one day oii a fitfagin^ party 
with six men in two siAall canoes*, lind landed near 
a consecrated inclosure, called Gnacao, one of the 
most fertile places in the whole island. Here they 
met with four of the enemy, who, perceiving tbslr 
inferiority, made an cAideavour to get into th& con- 
secrated place, where they would have been per- 
fectly safe. Falsvati, however, seeing their inten- 
tion, got between them and the fencing, when one 
of the enemy made a bold push to pass his anta- 
gonist, and scramble over the reed-woric, and had 
actually got one leg over, when Palavali struck 
him a furious blow on the head, and felkd. ^qqrql 
dead within the place. SeeV(\^ xvorw ^\iS5Xk\A^^GK>^ 
doae, be was 8trad( wMh fc«f, wA Tw^'wwwi ^s» 



i90 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ibe canoesy followed by his men. As soon as ^ 
arriTed, at the fortress, he commanicaied to fao^ 
fite hflid passed, aayingi in his defence, that 1 
WW so eag^r in pnrauit, as to be out of all ael 
Dommand. The king fanmediately ordered cai 
to be taken to the priest of his own tatelar §m 
that tlie divinity might be consulted as to wIm 
alonenent was proper to be made for so heinoua 
sacrilege. The priest being insfwed, made-ai 
swer, that • it was necessary a child shovld b 
strangled to appease the anger of the goda. 
The chiefii then held s cfmsoltation, and came t 
the deCenmnation of sacriiking a child of Toeb 
Toa, by one of liia £nnale attendants, f Toob 
To« was present, and gave his consent that hi 
child (about two yean old) should be immftlate 
to appease the anger of the godfr and turn asid 
their vengeance for the sacrilegious crime commil 
ted. The child was accordingly sought for ; bv 
its mother, thinking her child might be demand 
ed, had concealed it. Bemg at length found b 
one of the men who were in search of it, he too! 
it op in his arms, smilmg with delight at bein 
taken notice of. Its poor mother wanted to fol 
low, but was held back by those about her. Q 
hearing its mother's ■ voice, it began to cry ; bnl 

. * Ttm is perfectly consistent with the Tonga custom 
whenever the divinities are supposed to be exceedingly ol 
tended. It is a piece of superstition far from being un 
common in the history of mankind. Unpleasant truthi 
as well as agreeable ones, must be sought out and related 
if we wish to anive at a true knowleo^^ of our own a* 
Ciive. 

f On such occasions, the child of a male chief is al« 

iviiyt cboaen, as bdng worthier than others, and a child bj 

'Ml inferior female attendant, \>eca»i<EA Sx \% tv^ %. diief (.■» 



THK TOHGA ISLAMDS. 191 

when it arrifed at the fatal pkuie of esecotioiiy it 
was pleased and delighted with the band of gnatoot 
that was put round its neck, and, looking up in 
the face of the man who was about to destroy it, 
displayed in its beautiful countenance a smile of 
ine&ble pleasure* . Such a si^^t inspired pity hi 
liie breast of every one ; but visneimtioii and fear 
of the gods was a sentiment superior to erery 0- 
iber, Imd its destroyer could not help excfadming, 
as he put on the ftttol bandage, O iaooe ehi voie ! 
(poor little innocent !) Two men then tightened 
the cord by pulling at each end, and the giiiltless 
and unsuspectiog victim was qiuckly relieved of its 
painful struggles. The body was then placed upon 
a sort of hand4>arTow, supported upon the shoul- 
ders of four men, and carried in a procession of 
]Niests, chiefis, and matabooles clothed in nuUSi 
with wreaths of green leaves round their necks. 
In this, mammr it was conveyed to various houses 
consecrated to different gods, before each of which 
it was placed cm the ground, all the company sitv 
ting behind it, except one priest, who sat beside 
it, and prayed aloud to the god that he would be 
pleased to accept of this samfice as an atonement 
for the heinous sacrilege committed, and that pu- 
nishment might accordingly be withheld from the 
people. When this had been done before all the 
consecrated houses in the fortress, the body waa 
given up to its relatbnfy to be buried in the usual 
manner. 

About four or five days after the above horrible 
immolation, this same Palavali was killed in a 
skirmish with the ^emy. He went out again on sl 
foraging excursion; witn abou\il3ixKEX^ w V«n.^ \&ho^ 

VOL, /• i^ ^ 



I9i TRANSACTIONS AT 

flot proAnsed warriorsy but men on whose connige 
and honour no reliance could be placed. They 
met with a BmaUer body of the enemy, but who 
were all staunch fighting men ; and in a very short 
time, Pidavali's men turned about to sun away. 
He vainly endeavoured to rally them, and, fiidng 
about to set them the example, he received several 
wounds, and fell. At this moment his men also 
feced round, and seeing the perilous situation of 
their cluef, became animated with courage, and 
drove the enemy a few paces back, whilst two or 
three picked him up, and carried him to the fort- 
ress. When they arrived, they proceeded to tike 
out four spears which had pierced him, but he de- 
sired them to desist from so useless a task, as he 
was certain the gods had decreed his deatb as a 
punishraient for his late ofience. This too was ^e 
general opinion of the people, and was the sub- 
ject of their conversation long afterwards, contri- 
buting to spread a considerable gloom throughout 
the garrison. PalavaJi died about half an hour 
aftm* he was brought home. 
■- Finow already began to grow tired of the war. 
It was a kind of conflict not 8nite<i to his genins ; 
he loved rather a few hard fought engagements 
and a speedy conquest. The enemy showed no 
disposition to come forth from their stronghold 
and attack him ; and he had found by experience, 
that even the guns produced no sensible effect 
upon their fortification, situated upon an eminence, 
and defended by walls of clay. * He heartily 

* Mr Mariner could easily have devised a niediod to 
set the enemy's fortress on (ire; hut he considered Toe 
O0nioo*8 raube quite as jusl a&vWvo^ "fxTvvvw \ w\\vV^\\\mu\^h 
^e latter was his* fricud, he \iaA moife >lijxi\iAi laSiKta^ vtv 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 19S 

Wished for a peace, but he did not choose that his 
wish should be known, lest it should be attributed 
to fear or any other unworthy motive ; in short, 
he wanted to bring about a peace, without being 
thought to taish for it ; and the difficulty was to 
accomplish lliis. He was, however, by no means 
deficient in policy, and he soon thought of a me- 
thod. From time to time he held secret confer- 
ences with the priests, di^efly either upon religious 
subjects or upon political matters, as connected 
with the will of the gods. He spoke of his de- 
termination to remain at Vavaoo and prosecute 
the war till his enemies were destroyed ; then on 
a sudden, as if his heart for the moment relented^ 
he painted in the most striking colours the evils of 
war, and how sorry he was that the necessity of 
the case obliged him to punish his rebellious snb^ 
jects with so dire an evil. He then represented* 
in the most lively colours, the blessings of peaces 
and on this side of the prospect touched his hear- 
ers so with the beauty of the description that they 
entreated him to endeavour to make a peace. He 
then pretended to be inexorable, but always threw 
in something in favour of the Vavaoo people, so 
that the priests at length thought there was no 
question at all about the propriety and honour of 
making a peace, and that it was their duty to per- 
suade him to do it. When they were inspired 
they had the same sentiment, and of course they 
considered it to be the sentiment of the gods, and 
represented it to him as such ; while he, pretend- 

tbe assafisi nation of a man of admirable charact^ ^v^kSq^ 
Nuha)» who was also Mr Mar\t\cf * ^tvetv^ •, \jvis\\«s^V^ ^^^ 
Dot choose to bo the means of d^aViw^ o\i\. ^*i,'s»VTM05ia^>a^l^'^ 
» oumbor of innocent women at\A cVvWi^Tetv, 



194 TRAKSACTIOKS AT 

uig to mbmit only because it was the diyind will^ 
left tlie matter entirely to them to negotiate ; and 
if they succeeded, it wonld afford him, he said, at 
least one great gratification, tiz. the opportunity of 
again renewing his fiiendship with his annt Toe 
Oomoo, and paying her that respect which her so? 
perior relationship required. 

The day after the last conference, the prieatl 
accordingly dressed themselves in mats, with 
wreaths of green leaves round their necka as to* 
kens of humility, not towards the enemy, hut the 
godly as fiilfil ljiig a commisnon sacred in its nature. 
Thus equipped, they set out on their way to Fel* 
letoa. In die mean lime, Finow gave orden that 
none of his men should commit any act of hoetili* 
ty; for as the gods had admonished liim to endear 
v6ur to make a peace, and the prieats were actualF 
ly fulfilling that endeavour, any act of hos^ity 
might defeat their puipose. 

The priests went four or five different times to 
hold conferences with the chiefs of Felletoa before 
i&ey could luing about a reconcDiation. The old 
men seemed nulling enough to listen to terms of 
accommodation, influenced perhaps by their pre- 
judice in favour of Finow as their lawful king, yet 
the young and spirited warriors, who saw clearly 
enough into the artful character of Finow, with 
much less of the above prejudice, constantly object* 
ed to make a peace with a man on whose honour 
and integrity they thought it impossible, with any 
degi*ee of certainty, to rely. At length, however, 
they said that as their lives were not a matter of 
so much consequence as the peace and happiness 
of Toe Oomoo and her peo\\fe ^wv^snJ^-^^^^^^w^ 
filing to witjidratwibftir o\>jec6,wi&* 1\» '\fr«s^sl 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 195 

now returned to Neafoo with the warmest assurances 
from the chiefs of Felletoa, that they would pay 
Finow an amicable visit the following day. 

The next morning the chiefs and warriors of 
Felletoa, with several women, were seen coming 
towards Neafoo, advancing two and two, all arm- 
eil, painted and decorate<l with streamers, forming 
altogether a very beautiful and romantic proces- 
sion, bringing with them abundance of gnatoo, 
yams, &c. as presents to their relations. In this 
way they came into the king's presence on the 
malaif where he was seated -with his chiefs and 
inatabooles. The Vavaoo people then laid down 
their spears, which were af^rwards shared out to 
three of Finow's principal chiefs, who again shared 
them out to all those below them in rank. * They 
seated themselves round the maldiy and cava was 
prepared, the young chiefs and warriors of Felletoa 
waiting on the company, f All this time Finow s 
men were unarmed, % agreeably to the custom on 
such occasions, but by his orders the greater part 
remained at their houses where their arms were 
deposited, fm* he was upon his guard lest his guests 
had some stratagem to play. He had merely signi> 
fied to his men, that it would be better for them 

* Mr Mariner believes this to be always the case on 
such occasions : but it was the* only iiuitancc of a peace 
Ibmially established, that happened while he was Uiere. 
' t It is an honourable office to assist at cava parties, it 
is therefore generally filled by young chiefs. 
■ ^ The visitors come armed for the sake of parade, giv- 
ing up their arms afterwards as presents ; those that 't«>- 
ccive them must be unarmed, as a ptoot oi ^cvt ^ckiwMv^ 
iH.ipofittion, and that they do not meau to ^ct ^^2TO^ vo^ 'Owect 
pofvcr by stratagem. 

tt2 



)96 TRANSACTIONS AT 

to remain at their hovBes, as it would inspire the 
Vsvaoo chiefe with more confidence than if they 
were present in a hody. 

During the time the cava was heing served oat, 
the king made a speech, addressed principally t^^ 
ibe chiefis of FeUetoa, in which he acknowledged 
that they were not to he hlamed for their fears 
and apprehensions as long as they helieved him to 
be the treacherous chai«cter which his «aemie« 
had represented him to be; bat he hoped that 
these calumnies were now at ab end. He was 
Williogy be 8Bid> to excuse them for having fought 
in honour of the memory of their late chief Todb6 
ISfuhay against bis murdems, for if they had not 
done.soy he should have considered them cowards; 
but as most of these murderers had now by their 
death expiated their crime, and he himself, as 
he solemnly assured them, being perfectly innocent 
of that affair, the present peace, he was convinced, 
was a most honourable one to all parties* He 
then made the most solemn protestations of the 
sincerity of his intenticms towards them ; and as a 
proof of his wish to avmd all -future occasions of 
quarrel, he should send back all bis people to the 
Hapai Islands, except a few matabooles, who wero 
to remain with him at Vavaoo, which, for the fu- 
ture, he should make his place of residence, out of 
the love and respect he had for them ; whilst he 
riiould consign the government of the Hapai 
Islands to Toobo T6a, who was to send him an- 
nual tribute. When the cava was finished the 
eamptmy rose up, and tlie Vavaoo party returned 

to Feiletoa, to prepssre ui eci\fft\jKi;figDMs^ ^•qr the 

I^^t^ai people the {oWothid!^ ^^« 

•Esrl jr the >iext TOonsin^ s3^ ^^ <3S«5»i xsa^J^r 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 197 

beolesy and wamors of Neafoo, painted and deco- 
rated themselyes with streamers, and put on mats^ 
in token of Finow s inferiority as a relation to his 
aunt Toe Oomoo, chief of the fcntress of Felletoa. 
They took spears in their hands, and, thns equip- 
ped, marclied out of Neafoo, two and two, with 
Finow at their head, cairying with them presents 
for their relations in the opposite garrison. In this 
order tliey entered FeUeUw, and proceeded to the 
imalM, where all the chiefe and matabooles of Toe 
Oomoo weve aeated ready to recmve them. A 
quantity of hogs, yams, and fowls, were deposited in 
tiie middle of the circle, at the upper end of which 
% place was left vacant for die king to preside in, for, 
his aont not being there, he was the greatest chief 
present. Had Toe 0<Mnoo been also present, she 
must have presided, at the head of the circle, and 
the king, as her inferior relation, must have 
seated himself opposite to her, on the outside 
among the common people ; for no two relations 
of different rank can sit in the same circle to- 
gether. * On this account, and out of respect to 
Finow, he being sovereign. Toe Oomoo did not 
make her appearance. Finow being seated, his 
men, as they came in, deposited their spears in 
the middle of the circle, to be afterwards shared 
out in the same manner as was done by the Va- 
Taoo people at Neafoo the day before ; they then 
retired to the outside of the circle, ready to wait 
upon the company. A large root of cava was then 
split into pieces, and distributed to be chewed aa 
usual ; and while the cava was preparin^^ thft y^a* 
visions were shared out, ready to W ea&/ec^ ^Sxk^Sx 

^An accurate description of iheceTemoxvXov&te^aNaS^^^'^ 
•/"« CMVM party will be given in 0» secou^ N<>Vxn»» 



198 TRANSACTIONS AT 

was drtink. Tliis being done, and tJie proTkooiii 
conmuned, a second course of cava was preparec 
and served out, of which Finow having drunk .| 
wnall quantity, retired to pay a visit to his aunt 
When he arrived in her presence he went up ti 
her, and, with great respect, kissed her hand, anc 
she, in return, kissed his forehead.* He then m 
down to drink cava with her and her attendants 
and, as she presided, he of course sat outside (Be- 
ing her. When the cava was finished, he walkec 
out to view the fortifications, on which oocasim 
the matabooles of Toe Oomoo waited on him, an^ 
pointed out every thing wordiy of notice. Thej 
descanted on the excellence of the plan, and then 
gave him anecdotes of the war, telling him when 
such a chief was killed, where another lost his am 
or his leg, where a cannon-ball had struck, ha 
and, as they viewed the outside of the works, 
they ppinted out where the different murderers cA 
Toobo Nuha met their fate. All tliis, however, 
they told him in answer to liis queries ; for it is s 
tiling very remarkable in the character of the peo- 
ple of Tonga, that they never exult in any feats oi 
bravery they may have performed. On the con- 

* When a person salutes a superior relation, he kisses 
the hand of the party ; if a very superior relation, he kisses 
the foot ; the superior in return kisses the forehead. There 
may be some doubt as to the propriety of the term to kitt 
in this ceremony, for it is not perfonned by the lips aftei 
our usual mode, but rather by the application of the uppci 
lip and the nostrils, and has more the appearance of smell- 
ing. When two equals are about to salute, each npplici 
/jJ8 upper lip and nostrils to the forehead of the other, or 
he applies his lips to the \ips o? \}tvc o\i\w,Vi>i\.vi\.tltovitany 
niovemerit of tliem, or smacV., 5v?,\tv ov\t vclo^^. ^^ivvcVvi 
thoy Mver adopt, not e\ei\ V>^XN«eeTv \\vc «fcK.«?i— 'Oon«| i 
^ays ndicule it, and teim \t iKe iwUUe TMitv»ku*. 



THS TONGA ISLAKIMU IM 

tnuy, they take every c^portimity of praising aa 
adversary ; although this adversary may he plainly 
a coward, and will make an excuse for him, snck 
as the nnfavonrahleness of the opportunity, or 
great fatigne, or ill state of health, or hadness of 
his ground, ftc In their games of wrestling they 
act up to the same principle, never to speak ill of 
their antagonist cfterwardsy but always to praise 
him. As an illnstration of tiiis character it may 
be remaikedy that the man who called himself 
FamilL Fonnooa, and ventured his life to throw his 
spear at llie muszle of Mr Mariner's carronade, 
never afterwards boasted of it, nor appeared to 
think he had done any thing worthy of after- 
notice. Their notions of true bravery seem to be 
irery correct, and the light in which they viewed 
this act of Fann^ Fonnooa serves for an example. 
They considered it in short a rash action, and un- 
wonliy a great and brave mind, that never risks 
finy danger but with a moral certainty, or at least 
reasonable expectation, of doing some service to 
his cause. In these respects they accuse Euro- 
peans of a great deal of vanity and selfishness, and, 
tmfbrtunately, with too much justice. It must be 
remariced, however, that these noble sentiments 
belong to chiefs, matabooles, and professed war- 
riors ; not much to the lowest orders. 

Finow having for a considerable time inspected 
the fortification, praising everywhere the judgment 
with which it was planned, retired to the house 
which had formeriy belonged to Toob6 Nuba, 
where he passed the night. The following morn- 
ing he summoned a general meetiTi^ q{ ^Xv«^ yc^niS^'- 
tanta of Yzywio^ which waa ^oon «lc.c«w^o^^^ 
the people were nil at one ox oXVvwt o"l ^^ vi*^ 



20P TRANSACTIONS AT 

Ibrtreiifles. He tJien ga^e directions to' -all the 
principal men rospecting the cultivation of the 
oonntry, which the late war had reduced to a sad 
state. He oommanded that every one should be 
as frugal as possible in his food, that the present 
scarcity might be recompensed with future abund- 
ance. He onlered his fishermen to supply him 
and his chiefs with plenty of fisli, that the conr 
sumption of pork might be lessened ; and, haying 
settled these matters, he next gave orders that the 
large fortress of Felletoa should be taken down, 
its fencing carried away by any body who might 
want it, its banks levelled with the ground, and its 
ditches filled up ; luging, as his reason, that there 
was no necessity for a garrisoned place in time of 
peace, particulariy in a spot which conld be so 
much better employed for building an additional 
number of more commodious dwellings. The for- 
tress of Neafoo, he said, might remain, for it was 
a place not convenient to live at, and therefore i^ 
was not worth while to take any trouble about it 
These were his ostensible reasons, but his rea 
motives were easy to be seen into. He was ap 
prehensive that, in the event of another insurre< 
tion, his enemies might again possess themselvr 
of this stronghold ; but as to the other fortress, 
he did not succeed in securing it for lumRelf, 
could easily dispossess them by destroying it w 
his carronades whenever lie tliouglit proper. 

These orders were begun immediately to 
put into execution, under the inspection of 
chiefs of the different districts of the island. 
foJlomng day, the king gave orders to Toobo 
^ proceed back to iVia ^"u^^x \^'axv^> ^ "« 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 201 

he constituted him tributary chief; the tributes* 
were to be sent to Vavaoo half yeai'ly, as usual. 
At the same time, all the natives of Hapai, who 
had come to the war, were to return with their 
chief. On this occasion the young prince (Innow s 
son, Moegnagnongo) went with Toobo Toa to the 
Hapai islands, as he wished to look over his lands 
on the island of Foa ; and Mr Mariner accom* 
panied the prince, preferring his character and ha- 
bits to those of his father. They arrived safe at 
this island after a quick passage of about nine 
hours. 

* Tho tribute generally conasts of yams, mats, gnatoo^ 
dried fish, live birds, &c. and is levied upon every man*s 
property in proportion as be can spare. The quantity is 
sometimes determined by the chief of each district, though 
generally by the wilt of each individual, who will always 
take care to send quite as much as he can well afibrd, leat 
the superior chief should be offended with him, and de- 
prive him of all that he has. This tribute is paid twice a 
year ; once at the ceremony of Inachit or offering the first 
fhiits of tlie season to the gods, in or about the beginning 
of October ; and again at some other time of the year, 
when the tributary chief may think proper, and is general- 
ly done when some article is in great plenty. The tribute 
levied at the time of the Inachi is general and absolute; 
that which is paid on the other occasion comes more in 
form of a present, but is so established by old custom, 
that, if it were 6mitted, it would amount to little less than 
an act of rebellion. It may here with propriety be observ- 
ed, that the practice of making presents to superior chiefs 
is very general and frequent. The higher class of chiefs 
generaUy make a present to the king, of hogs or yams 
about once a fortnight. These chiefs, about the same 
time, receive presents from tliobe below tliem, and these 
last from others, and so on, down to the common people. 
The principle on which all 'this is grounded is of ^course 
fjar, but it is termed respect {ofa). 



202 TRAMSACTIOKS AT 



CHAPTER Vm. 

Shortly after the arrivBl of the prince, wil 
Toobo Toa and Mr Mariner, at the island of Fo 
there came a canoe from Varaoo with the Tonj 
diief FUimoe^too, who, it will be recollected, wi 
a relation of Finow, and had joined his canse : 
Pangaimotooy leaving die laland of Tonga for th 
purpose, by permission of his superior, the chi> 
of HiWfo. Filimoeatoo was now on his return 1 
the island of Tonga, with a commission from F 
now to treat with the chief of Hihifo respectiii 
a particular bird of the species called kalai (trail 
ed for sport). This latter chief, although belonj 
ing to the island of Tonga, was never professed! 
Finow's enemy, otherwise than as Fmow had be< 
associated witli the late Tool>6 Nulia, whom tl 
chief of Hihifo mortally hated ; * but as Tool 
Nuba was now dead, and consequently all caul 
of enmity removed, Finow was in hopes he shou 
be able to prevail upon the chief of Hihifo to mal 
him a present of one of the first and best traim 
birds, of the kind in question, that ever was know: 
and which thb chief had brought up with great car 

* With the cauie o£ IVua «uni\t^> '^EU^IUxvmx U not wi 
acquainted. 



TH« TOMGA ISLAHIW. $0S 

and kept in his possession^ though it was the en- 
ty of erery chief who hud seen it. This particii- 
lar burd Rnow was ardently desirous of having, to 
practise the sport called ,/^iiiita kalaiy of which we 
ahall give a description. The sportsman, armed 
with a bow and arrows, conceals himself within a 
large cage, made of a sort of wicker-work, covered 
over with green leaves, but not so much but what 
he may see his game. On the top of this cage is the 
cock bird tied by the leg, whomidces a noise and flaps 
his wings, as if calling other birds to come and fi^t 
him. Within is a smtdler cage, in which there is the 
hen hii-d, who also makes a peculiar noise, as if in 
answer to die one on the outside ; but be this as it 
may, both cock birds and hens are attracted to- 
wards the spot, and are shot by the sportsman. 
This sport is practised by none but the lung and 
very great chiefr ; for training and keeping these 
birds require great care, as well as great expense; 
One man is appointed to each pair of birds, and 
he has nothing else to do but to attend to the ma^ 
nagement of them ; and, if this is not done with 
the utmost skill, they will not make the noise ne* 
cessary to attract others. So much attention, in 
short, is paid to these birds, that their keepers 
are authorized to go and demand plantains for 
them, of whomsoever it may be, and howsoever 
scarce may be this article of food. Even if there 
were a famine, and the people almost starving, if 
a keeper sees a fine bunch of plantains, he will go 
and taboo it, which he does by sticking a reed in 
the tree, and telling the proprietor diat those plan* 
tains are tabooed for the use of the bvcd^* 'tXi^RA 
keepen live well; and are m ^euci^X n^t>} V&as^^xsX 



204 TRANSACTIONS AT 

fellows, sometimes committing very greal depfe* 
(lations mider frivolous pretensions of procuring fopc 
for their birds. Tho sufferer sometimes makes f 
complaint to the king, or whatever chief the keep- 
er belongs to ; and if the chief thinks the offeno 
really outrageous, he orders the man a severe beat 
ing, which is usually done by inflicting heavy slapi 
with the open hand upon his bare back, or striking 
him about the head and face with the fist. 

Filimoeatoo soon departed from Foa, on his wa) 
to Hihifo, and arrived at this place without an) 
accident. He was not, however, so successful iz 
the object of his journey as he expected to be 
for the chief of Hihifo was unwilling to part witi 
a bird, which, he said, had cost great hazard ti 
himself, and the loss, of many lives, to preserve 
for he had sustained wars with so many othei 
chiefs, who had quarrelled with him on account 
of his refusing to give it them, that he felt, he 
said, more than ever resolved to keep it. How* 
ever, as Finow had so strong a desire for an ex< 
cellent and well trained bird of that kind, he would 
make him a present of a' pair, which, although not 
quite so good as the one in question, would be 
found exceedingly valuable. Before parting, how* 
ever, he qualified his refusal of the i*are bird, bj 
Rayin<^, that if he ever did give it away, it must 
be after very mature deliberation, for it was cer^ 
tainly the best bird tliat liad ever been trained 
He was heartily glad to hear of the death oi 
Toob6 Nuba, and dcclai'od that no pei*8ona] en- 
mity existed on his part towards Finow. On the 
co/Jtmry, he felt so great an attachuieiit for him, 
that ho Would moat VAYiw^^ \<i\siTSvvj\\l\ Filimoea- 
too to Vavaoo, to ptiy ^^ n'V&vX \.o Yxt^ow , .Xsvsx. ^ 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 205 

his matabooles would not allow him. FQ]m6eatoo 
having remained a day and a night with this chiefs 
returned with the two hirds to Finow, and gare 
him an account of his interview. Finow received 
the present, hut was by no means pleased with the 
refusal of the bird, on which he had so much set 
his heart. The following morning, however, he 
went out to try his success with Uiese two, and 
which so far exceeded lus expectations, that he 
wanted more than ever to have the excellent bird, 
and he immediately set about to obtain it by 
rich presents.*— He got ready sea-horses' teeth, 
beads, axes, a looking-glass, several iron bolts, and 
a griiiiding stone, all of which he had procured 
from European ships, and chiefly from the Port 
au Prince. He also ordered to be prepared se- 
veral bales of Vavaoo gnatoOy fine Hamoa mats, 
and a large quantity of cava ; the whole of which 
he gave in charge to Filimoc^too to tal^e imme* 
diately to Hihifo, and present them to the chief, 
except so&e of the cava, which he was to distri- 
bute among the lower chiefs and matabooles, to 
engage them more readily in his interest. Finow 
himself accompanied Filimoeatoo as far as Ha^o 
(one of the Hapai Islands), and took many of his 
principal chiefis along with him, with a view of 
lessening the consumption of food at Vavaoo. On 
this expedition there were five canoes, all of whicL 
arrived safe at Ha^o ; and from this island Fili- 
m6eatoo proceeded in one canoe with thirty men 
to Hihifo, where having also arrived safe, he dis- 
tributed his presents. 

Tlie chief of Hihifo, on th\a sfecoiv^ wx^tguX «^- 
pVicAtion from Finow, after t^owve, cwvKv^^?rBJC\«ti> 
aasweredf tiiat as he could not \waft \Vie\A^\\vKv«^^ 



206 TRANSACTIONS AT 

his time being so much taken vp in constant war- 
fore with his neigfabonrs, and as it would noi be 
eonaistent with the chartu^er cfa chief* to retiun 
from another that which he could not use himself, 
he would, at once, resign the bird to Finow, not- 
withstanding the high Tglae he placed on it, and 
die immense care and trouble it had cost him. 
This famom bird was accordingly consigned to the 
charge of Filim6edtoo, who returned with all con- 
venient speed to tell the king the success of his 
journey. Finow was still at the Hapai Islands^ 
when he reteiTed his long wished for present ; but 
he made no use of it till about three weeks af- 
terwaidsy when he had returned to Vavaoo. In 
the mean time^ Maccapapa, Lolo hea Bibigi, and 
three others, all chicfis and warriors, secretly left- 
Yavaoo, and sailed for Tonga, to join Tarky*, chief 
of the fortress of Bea, who formerly buiiit Finow's 
fortress of Nioocalofa in so treacherous a manner. 
They took this step, being apprehensive that the 
king might hereafter wreak liis vengeance on them 
for fighting against him. The sequel will show how 
for their apprehensions were well grounded. 

Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai Islands, 
Mr Mariner accompanied the prince to the island 
of Tofooa, to procure iron-wood, which is found 
there in great abundance. The prince first ob- 
tiuned leave from Tooitonga (the divine chief), 
for tliis island is his property, and therefore con- 
sidered sacred. Besides, it is supposed to be the 
residence of the sea-gods, and on this account the 

* The chiefs, among V^«m^V«9&, \xva t\\U sort of ez- 
i>«w«ibf]y— OS in civili»id covaiVcvn via n«ki^^ vv:)^ '»l \)i 
^^aaim^ Hke a g/niilemaai. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 207 

people finnty believe tliat no sharks will hurt a 
man who is swimmincr near upon its coesU 

On tlie island of Tofooa there is a small volca- 
no, situated near the northern extremity, from 
which smoke almost constantly issues, and pumice- 
stones are very frequently thrown. An eruption of 
flame takes place, sometimes twice or thrice.a week, 
and at other times scarcely once in two months, 
and p^enerally lasts one, two, or three days. 
The way to the top is extremely difficult ; but 
Mr Mariner, taking one of the natives of the 
island for a guide, resolved to ascend it. They be- 
gan the ascent early in the morning, and, although 
their progress was much impeded by the quantity 
of loose pumice-stone, and often rendered very 
dangerous, they reached the top in about four 
hours. There was at this time no eruption of 
flamo, which had ceased a few hours before, after 
having lasted three days. Smoke there was, how- 
ever, in abundance, but which jdid not much annoy 
them, as they were on the windward side. Sundry 
explosions were also heard from within, like the 
noise of water being thrown upon burning pitch. 
Tlie crater was about thirty feet diameter. Whilst 
they were here, Mr Mariner took care not to let 
his companion approach too near, lest he might 
have some sinister intent. Such piiecaution was by 
no means unnecessary, as this species of treachery, 
when it can be performed secretly, is not unusual, 
particularly among great warriors, wlien they have 
some petty interest to consult. This, however, is 
not to be considered the natural dis^iot^vtvycs. ^i ^^ca 
Tonga people f but a practvce^ -wVsvcVv, ^orw^'^'^ 
tlmt of war, they have leanved Crom %Xv^ xcaxv*«». ^ 

r2 



806 TRAK8ACTIONS AT 

die Fiji Islands, where a inan seldom goes wAf 
even perhaps with his greatest friend, withont he* 
ing armed, and cautiously upon his guard. Mr 
Mariner had, therefore, pro\^ed himself with a 
pistol, as a defence against any violent roeasores 
on the part of his companion. On tiieir return 
down the mountain, he told his companion that he 
might have shot him dead, and nohody would have 
been the wiser ; to which the man replied, ** I see 
you are hio boto, * like the Fiji people " — ^ meaning 
that he possessed policy and caution against treadi- 
ery ; and added, *< as I am unarmed, it is a proof 
that I ha4 no ill design, and therofore did not sus- 
pect any in you. " 

Whilst on this island, Mr Mariner went to see 
ilie grave of an Englishmmi, John Norton, belong- . 
ing to the .boat of the Bounty, Captain Bligh, 
whose crew had mutinied. He was led to vifiit 
this spot from a motive of curiosity, excited by the 
account the natives had given him of the death of 
this man, and which account was to the following 
purport. P^ot of Captain Bligh's crew had been 
on shore to procure water,- and had all returned 
into their boat, except one man who was making 
the best of his way aftw his companions, with an 
axe in his band. Some of the natives, perceiving 
the axe, resolved to possess themselves of it, parti- 
cularly one of them who was a carpenter. Tliey ac- 
cordingly pursued him ; and this carpenter throw- 
ing a stone at him, knocked him down, and, com- 
ing up, beat him on the head with stones till he was 
dead. They then atripped the body, and dragged 
^ up the country towirda ^ xsvaNscL^ ^Vc:^^ >iMs<| Inft 
h excp^eed two or duree ^^^^^ «DA^Six»c^vB^\rax«^ 

• Of a "^n^e TKvvcA.. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 209 

it near the ^>ot. Tbey said rery little about » 
general attack, merely stating, that some of the na^ 
tives ^irew stones at Captain Bligb's boat ; and Mr 
Mariner, at that time, not having read the najTa^- 
tive, * did not inquire into such particulars as he 
otherwise would have done : but the most striking 
part of the story is, that the whole track of ground 
through which the body was dragged, had ever 
nnce been destitute of grass, as well as the spot on 
wlucb it lay for two or three da^gi. It was this 
cnrcumstanoe, principally, that eng^ed Mr Mari- 
ner to visit the place^ and there, indeed, he found 
the bare track of ground from the beach near to the 
place where they say he was buried ; nor has it 
much the appearance of a beaten path, besides that 
it leads to and from places, where there are hut few 
ifihabitantt* At the termination of this track there 
is a bare place, lying transversely, about the length 
and breadth of a man. 

However trivial such relations may appear in 
themselves, ihey are worth mentioning, with a 
view to contrast them with the accounts given by 
credible travellers^ that they may tend to prove 
how &r the statements of the natives may be de- 
pended on ; besides which, in some instances, as 
in the {H^sent, they show what kind of supersti- 
tions they are subject to. As to the bare track, 
although it may not now have much the appear- 
ance of a beaten path, owing to the grass having 
grown irr^ularly on either side, there is every 
probability that, some years back, it was such, 
though now little trod ; and those who as« ^^W(, 

• 5ee a narrative of the mu^n^ o^ lV« 'fto>x^V3> ^sA. c!^^ 
i^mptain BligWs very interesting vo^«k^'a'» va. CQ»«t.**^^ 
MiiscELLANY, yoU iv. 



210 TRANSACTIONS AT 

to keep up tlie npirit of the wonderfol have attri- 
Imted it to this superaatnral cause. Superstitions^ 
in all countries, are much of the same kind. We ' 
have similar ones in our own. 

Whilst Finow was yet at the Hapai Islands, he 
often held conversations at his cava parties with 
Filimoeatoo, respecting the state of ai&ire at Ton- 
ga. Among other things, this chief related, that 
a ship from Botany Bay had touched there about 
a week before he arrived, on board of which there 
was a Tonga diief, Pdloo M^ta Moigna, and his 
wife, Fataf6hi, both of whom had left Tonga be- 
fore the death of Toogoo Ahoo, and had resided 
some years at the Fiji Islands, from which place 
they afterwards went along with one Seliy (as 
they pronounced it), or, probably, Selby, an Eng- 
lishman, in a vessel belonging to Botany Bay, to 
reside there. At this latter piacc he and his wife 
remained about two years, and now, on tlieir re- 
turn to Tonga, finding the island in such an un- 
settled state, they chose rather (notwithstanding 
the earnest entreaties of their friends) to go back 
again to Botany Bay. Tlie acc-ount they gave of 
the English customs at this place, and the treat- 
ment they at first met with, it may l>e worth while 
to relate. The first thing that he and his wife had 
to do, when they arrived at the governor's house, 
where they went to reside, was to sweep out a 
large court yard, and clean down a great pair of 

, stairs. In vain they endeavoured to explain, that 

in their own country they were chiefs, and, being 

accnstnmed to be waited on, were quite unused to 

such employments- TVvciv: v^^^wX\^^\«w^ ^^re 
taken no notice of, and v?oiV t\\^^ \o»&v K.v^ffsfc 
their life was so uncom^ot\a\>\c, xJwaX iJa^ ^>efiM^ 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 211 

to die ; no one seemed to protect them ; ail the 
homes were shot against them ; if they saw any 
body eating, they were not invited to partake. 
Nothing was to be got without money, of which 
they cmdd not comprehend the valne, nor how 
this same money was to be obtained in any quan- 
tity. If they asked far it, nobody would give them 
any, unless they worked for it ; and then it was 
so small in quantity, that they could not get with 
it one-tenth part of what they wanted. One day, 
whilst sauntering about, the chief fixed his eyes 
upon a cook's shop, and seeing several people en- 
ler, and others again coming out with victuals, he 
made sure that they were sharing out food, ac- 
cording to the old Tonga fashion; and in he went^ 
g^Iad enough of the occasion. After waiting some 
time with anxiety to be helped to his shive, the 
master of the shop asked him what he wanted, 
and, being answered in an unknown language, 
straightway kicked him out, taking him for, a thief, 
that only wanted an opportunity to steal. Thus, 
he said, even being a chief did not prevent him 
being used ill, for, when he told tliem he was a 
diief, they gave him to understand, that money 
made a roan a chief. After a time, hoivever, he 
acknowledged that he got better used, in proportion 
as he became acquainted with the customs and 
language. He expressed his astonishment at the 
perseverance with which the wlute people worked 
from morning till night, to get money ; nor could 
he conceive how they were able to endure so 
much labour. 

After having heard this m^cowtvX.^ Yyxvot^ ^^^^ 
teveral questions respecting lV\e tv«A.\ix^ cA xckCkW^'i % 
what 19 it made of ?— is it Wke atou"^ ^«sw \>. ^«^ 



S12 TRANSACTIONS -AT 

fat)liiono<l .like iron into various osefal instm- 
mcnts ? if not, why cannot people procure wliat 
ibey want in the way of barter ? — But where is 
ikioney to be got ? — if it be made, then'every mail 
ought to spend his time in making money, that 
when he has got plenty, be may be able after- 
wards to obtun whatever else he wants. In an- 
swer to the last observation, Mr Mariner replied* 
that the material of which money ¥ras made was 
very scarce and diiHcult to be got, and that only 
cfaieA and great men could procure readily a lai^ 
quantity of it ; and this either by being inheriton 
of plantations or houses, which tliey allowed othen 
to have, for paying them so much tribute in money 
«v?ary year; or by their public sendees; or by 
paying small sums of money for things when diey 
were in plenty, and afterwards letting others have 
them for larger sums, when they were scarce ; and 
as to the lower classes of people, tliey worked 
hard, and got paid by their employers in small 
quantities of money, as the reward of their labour, 
&c That the king was the only person that was al- 
lowed to make (to coin ) money, and that he put 
his mark upon all he made, that it might be known 
to be time ; that no peraon conld rcndily procure 
the material of which it was made, without paying 
money for it ; and if contrary to the taboo of the 
king, he tui*ned this material into money, he would 
scarcely have made as much as he had' given for it. 
Mr Mai'iner was then going on to show the con- 
venienc4) of money as a medium of exchange, 
when FilimocYitoo interrupted him, saying to 
iunow, I nndert^tand \\ow \t is :— money is less 
ciwibiimoma than gooAa, Mv^'\X»\^'^««'^ o^tts^MssX 
^ a man to exchange aw«^\a& ^so^V« mormp^n 



TUB TONGA ISLANDS. 213 

wLidi, at any other time, he can exchange again 
for the same or any other goods that he may want ; 
whereas the goods themselves may periiaps spoil 
by keeping, (particularly if provisions), hut the 
money he supposed would not spoil ; and although 
it was of no true value itself, yet being scarce and 
difficult to be got without giving something useful 
and really valuable for it, it was imagined to be of 
value; and if every body considered it so, and 
would readily give their goods for it, he did not- 
see but what it was of a sort of real value to all 
who possessed it, as long as their neighbours chose 
to take it in the same way. Mr Mai'iner found 
he could not give a better explanation, he there- 
fore told Filim6eatoo that his notion of the nature 
of money was a just one. After a pause of some 
length, Finow replied that the explanation did 
not satisfy him ; he sdll thought it a foolish thing 
that people should place a value on money, when 
they either could not or would not apply it to any 
useful (physical) purpose. ** If," said he, ** it 
were made of iron, and could be converted into 
knives, axes, and chisels, there would be some 
sense in placing a value on it ; but as it is, I see 
none. If a man, " he added, ^^ has more yams 
than he wants, let him exchange some of them 
away for pork or gnatoo. Certainly money is much 
handier, and more convenient, but then, as it will 
not spoil by being kept, people will store it up, 
instead of sharing it out, as a chief ought to do, 
and thus become selfish ; whereas, if provisions 
were the principal property of a man, and it ought 
to be, as being both the most useful and the most 
necessary, he could not bIot^ \X \i^> lo\ Nx -wwSS.^ 
spoil, and so he would be oVAi%«f^ «nJ^\^^ >» ^"^"^ 



214 TRANSACTIONS AT 

change tt away for something else ttsefal, or shaM 
it oat to his neiglihonrs, and inferior chiefs a&d de- 
pendents, for nothing. " He concluded hy sayings * 
^' I understand now very well what it is that niakes 
the Papalangis so selfish-^t is this money I " 

When Mr Mariner informed Finow that dollanr 
were money, he was greatly surprised, having al* 
ways taken them for padngcLy | and things ol lit- 
tle ralue ; and he was exceedingly wxtj he had 
not secured all the dollars out of the Port an 
Prince, before he had ordered her to be burnt. ^' I 
had always thought, " said he, ^^ that your ship 
belonged to some poor fellow, perhaps to King 
George's cook; for Captain Cook's ship, which 
belonged to the King, had plenty of beads, axea, 
and lookingAglasBeB on board, whilst yours had no- 
thing but iron hoops, oil, skins, and twelve • thoa- 
sand paanga as I thought : but if every one of these 
was money, your ship must have belonged to a 
very great chief indeed. " 

Finow and his chiefs having now remained at 
the Hapai Islands nearly six weeks, resolved ta 
return to Vavaoo, and the following day set sail, 
the prince and Mr Mariner accompanying them. As 
soon as they arrived at Vavaoo, the king gave or- 
ders that all the dogs in the island, except a few 
that belonged to chiefs, should be killed, because 
they destroyed the game, particularly the kcUat ; 
after which he promised himself great sport with 
his favourite bird. As the breed of dogs was 
scarce at these islands, there were not more than 

f Paanga is the name they give to a certain kind of beau 
wbieh is used in one of their ^mes (see Loffo among the 
gAvnes at the end of the second NoWm^^. v\v<e^ vx^s^jommI 
^^oIUlts to be used among usf(>t o^ii^Tii^vK y^^wa^ 



THK tO)fGA ISLANDS. SI5 

thy or sixty killed on the occasion ; and on these 
several of the chiefs made a hearty repast. The 
animal is killed hy blows on the head, and cooked 
in the same manner as a hog. Finow was parti- 
cularly fond of dog's flesh, but he ordered it to be 
called pork ; because women and many men had 
a degree of abhorence at this sort of diet. The 
parts of the dog in most esteem are the neck and 
hinder quarters. Mr Mariner has frequently par- 
taken of it, and found it very good ; the fat is con- 
sidered excellent. At the Sandwich Islands the 
practice was almost univereal in Mr Mariner's time, 
so that more dog s flesh was eaten than porl^ the 
hogs being preserved to be used as a trading com- 
modity with European and American vessels. At 
these last mentioned islands most of the male dogs 
are operated upon, and afterwards fattened for the 
express purpose ; - and Mr Mariner thinks their 
flesh is nearly as good and tender as that of a 
sucking pig. 

Finow having ordered all things to be got ready, 
went out early in the morning after his arrival, to 
try the excellence of Ins bird ; and had very great 
■port. The day following he went out again ; but 
the bird^ from some cause or another, would not 
make any noise ; which made him so angry that 
he knocked it on the ground, and beat it with an 
arrow, and, after having almost killed it, gave it 
sway to one of his chiefs, declaring how vexatious 
it vmA to have a bird that woald not speak after 
having had so much trouble with it. He afterwards 
used the two birds that were firRt sent to liim, and 
was tolerably well satisfied with them. 

VOL. I. s 



216 TRANSACTIONS AT 



CHAPTER IX. 

FiNOWy having at this time no business of import- 
ance on which to employ his attention, resolved 
to go to the island of Hoonga, lying at a small 
distance to the southward of Vavaoo, in order to 
inspect the plantations there, and to recreate him- 
self a little with the sport of idiooting birds and 
rats. Mr Mariner, as usual, formed one of the 
party. On this island there is a peculiar cavern, 
situated on the western coast, the entrance to 
which is some feet beneath the surface of the sea 
even at low water ; and was first discovered by a 
. young chief, whilst diving after a turtle. The 
nature of this cavern will be better imderstood if 
we imagine a hollow rock rising sixty feet or more 
above the surface of the water ; into the cavity of 
which there is no known entrance but one, and 
that is on the side of the rock, several feet under 
the water, which flows into it ; and, consequently, 
.the base of the cavern may be said to be the sea 
itself. * Finow and his friends, being on this part 

* The depth of the entrance below the surface differs, 
of course, with the diSeTent helg|hts of the tide. When 
Mr Mariner entered, it v/asf«\5o\iV, ^vn ^<i.<^ V^^w ^8afe wir- 
Ace. Jeremiah Higgvns %tv^ Vx >ww. vw^ w ^x^ Visx. 



THB TONGA I8LAND!f. 2lt 

of the island, proposed one afternoon, on a sudden 
thought, to go into this cavern, and drink cava. 
Mr Mariner was not with tliem at the time the 
proposal was made ; but happening to come down 
a little while after to the shore, and seeing some 
of the young chiefs diving into the water, one af- 
ter another, and not rise again, he was a little 
surprised, and inquired of the last, who was just 
preparing to take the same step, what they were 
about? " Follow me, " said he, " and I wiH 
take you where you have never been before ; and 
where fuiow, and his chiefs and roatabooles, are 
now assembled. " Mr Mariner, supposing it to be 
the famous cavern of which he had heard some 
account, without any further hesitation, prepai'ed* 
himself to follow his companion, who dived into 
the water, and he after him, and, guided by the 
light reflected from bis heels, entered the opening 
in the rock, and having dived through the passage-^ 
which is about eight or nine feet in length, rose 
into the cavern. He was no sooner above the 
BurfiEU^ of the water than, sure enough, he heard 
the voices of the king and his friends. Bieing di- 
rected by his guide, he cHmbed upon a jutting 
portion of rock, and sat down. All the light that 
came into this place was reHected from the bot- 

whcn he went in, at nearly low water, at which period it 
is very difficult to enter, on account of the swell. 

• It is proper to mention that, in prenencc of a superior 
chiefs it is considered very disrespectful to be undrest. 
Under such circumstances as the present, therefore, every 
one retires a little, and, as soon as he has divested him- 
self of his usual dress, slips on an apron ra^iA^ "a^ ^^^ 
leaves of the chi tree, or of maU\ng c«^cA. ^\c. '^V\e ^®^J^ 
respect is shown, if it be necessary tA MtvAitWvS xvew ^^>^a^^ 
grave; because some hotooa or god tsia'S >ae '^xesfctvV. 



218 TRANSACTIONS AT 

torn, and was sofficient, after remaioing about fiva 
minatea, to diow objects with some little distinct- 
ness; at least he could discoyery being directed 
by tlie voice, Finow, and the rest of the company, 
seated like himself. Nevertheless, as it was de- 
sirable to have a stronger illumination, Mr Mari- 
ner dived out again, and, procuring his pistol, 
primed it wdl, tied plenty of gncUoo tight round 
it, and wrapped the whole up in a plantain lea£ 
He directed an attendant to bring a torch in tha 
aame way. Tlins prepared, he re-entered the ca- 
vern as speedily as poasible, unwrapped the pnolioa^ 
a great portion of whicb was perfectly dry, fired 
it by the flash <tf the poWder, and K^ted the 
torch. The jribce waa now illuminated tofimbly 
well, ibr the first time, perhaps, since its exist- 
ence. It appeared (by guess) to be about 40 feet 
wide in the mun part, but which branched off, on 
one side, in two narrower portions. The medium 
height seemed also about 40 feet.* The roof 
was hung with stalactites in a very curious way, 
resembling, upon a cursory view, the Gothic 
arches and ornaments of an old church. After 
having examined the place, they drank cava, 
and passed away the time in conversation upon 
different subjects. Among other things, an 
old mataboole, after having mentioned how the 
cavern was discovered, viz. by a young chief in 
the act of diving after a turtle, related an interest- 
ing account of the use which this chief made cH 

* Jeremiah Higgins thinks it was not near so high. He 
hud the light of the sun setting opposite to the entrance* 
and refracted througVi lY\e vivXAX. Mc Mariner had asu- 
pmriox liglit from his UKdL 



TITE T019GA ISLANDS. 219 

}iis arciciental diNCOverv. Tlie circumntaTiceB ure 

In ftmner timeR there lived a tooi fcrovemor) of 
Va^'Boo, who exercised a very tyrannica] deport^ 
ment towardR his }>eop]e^ At leiiirth, when it wbb 
no loncer to be bom, a certain chief meditated a 
plan oJF inRnrrertion, and was resolred to free hiR 
conntrvmen from such odiomB slaverw or to l»e sa- 
crific^ himnelf in the attempt. Ikying however 
treacheroiudy deceiyed by one of his own party, the 
tynmt became acquainted with his jtlan, and imme- 
diately had him arrested. He was c^mdemned U* 
be taken ont to sea and drowned, and alj his family 
and relatiomi were ordered to be raaHsacrc'd, tiiat 
none of hiR race mifirbt- remain. One of liis dauerh- 
tern, a l>eaiitifa] girl, yonntr and iiiteroRting, had 
Iteen reserved to lie the wife of a chief of consider- 
able rank, and she also would have Runk, the vic- 
tim of the mercDeflR destroyer, liad it not. been for 
the sreneroiiB exertionR of another vonns: chief, who, 
a sliort time before, had discovered the cavern of 
Hooncrn. TljiR discover}- be liad kept within Ins 
bn^awt a profound Recret, reservinir it ur a place of 
retreat f(»r liimRelf. in case be sliould l>e unsncceRR- 
fnl in a ]»iaTi <if n»volt wliicli he also bad in view. 
He had long boen enamoured (»f this iK*autifal 
young maiden, but had never dared to m:ii;e her 
acquainted with the soft emotions of hi*« liearu 
knowincT that slie was lietrotlied t'^ a chief of biirher 
rank and creater power. But now the dreadful 
moment arriv(»(l wlien she waR about tfi l»e cmelly 
sarrificred to the rancour of a man, to whom \\v. 
waR a moRt de^idlv eiiemv. 'SiO vvkv^ ^'vc*» \» \* 
Jtttit : he £ew to iier a\>o'Ae ; coiiiii\\fl\vM^««" '^^ ^ 

s 2 



ttO TEAHSACTIOVS AT 

few ibort wordt the decree of the tyrant ; dedand 
liimtdf her deliirerer, if she would trust to his bo- 
nov, and, with eyee epesking the moet tender af- 
fectionsy he waited with breathlen expectation for 
an answer. Soon her consenting hand was clasp- 
ed in his. Hie shades of evening £Eivonred tlieir 
escape ; whilst the wood, the covert, or the grove, 
afforded her concealment, till her lover had broHg^ 
a small canoe to a lonely part of the beach. In 
this tliey speedily embarked, and as he paddled her 
aerass the smooth wave^ he related -the discovery 
of the cavern destined to be her asylum tiU an op- 
portunity offered of conveymg her to the Fiji Isl* 
ands. She, who had intruMed her pefaonal safety 
entirely to his care, hesitated not to oonsent to 
whatever plan he might think promotive of their 
ultimate escape. Her heart being full of gratitude, 
love and confidence^ found an easy access. They 
soon arrived at the rock, he leaped into the water, 
and she, instructed by bim, followed close afier. 
They rose into the cavern, and rested from their 
fears and their fatigue, partaking of some refresh- 
ment whidi he had brought there for himself, little 
tliinking, at the time, of the happiness that was in 
store for him. Early in the morning he returned 
to Vavaoo, to avoid suspicion. But did not iiul, 
tu the course of tbe day, to repair again to the 
place which held all that was dear to him. He 
brought her -mats to lie on; the &aestgnaioo for a 
change of <lres8 ; the best of food for her suppwt, 
saiulnl-wood, oil, cocoa nuts, and every thing he 
eoald think of to render her life as comfortable as 
pifHtiible* He gave Vkex aa yuml^c^v q^ Vua company 
•M prndence wonHd akl\ow« asA aX^^xGi«M^%^\Rnp 
^ pmte times, lost tlie prpn^ e^«^ «^ ^McvsawSc^ ^aRsfi^^ 



THE TOKGA ISLANDS. Q^\ 

find oat his retreat. He pleaded hia tola of love 
with the most impessioiied eloquence, more than 
fafiicient to win her warmest aifections, for bIm 
owed her life to his prompt and generous exer- 
tions, at the risk of his own. And how much was 
he delighted, when he Iicard the confession from 
iter own lips, that she had long regarded him with 
a favourable eye, but a sense of duty had caused 
her to smother the growing fondness, till tlie late 
sad misfortune of her family, and the circumstances 
attending her escape, liad revivetl all her latent af- 
fections, to hestow them wholly upon a man to 
whom they were so jusdy doe ! How happy were 
they in this solitary retreat ! Tyrannic power now 
no longer reached them. Shut out from the world 
and aU its cares and perplexities ; — secure from all 
the eventful changes attending upon greatness, 
cruelty, and ambidon ;— themselves were the only 
powers they served, and tiiey were infinitely delight- 
ed with this simple form of government. But al- 
^oi^h this asylum was their groat security in tlieir 
happiest moments, they could not always enjoy 
each other's company : it was equally necessary 
to their safety tliat he should be often absent from 
her, and frequently for a length of time together, 
lest bis conduct should be watclied. The young 
chief therefore panted for au oppoitunity to con- 
vey her to happier scenes, where his ardent ima- 
gination pictured to him the means of procuring 
for her every enjoyment and comfort. Nor was 
it long before, an opportmiity offering, he devised 
the means of restoring her with safety to tlie cheer- 
ful light of day. He signi^ed to \vv& \w\^tv^\ ^uw^% 
Mud matabooleBf that it was \\\«4 \si\»\\\.vya. \ft ^{J^ ^^ 
$be Fiji lalmdM, and Uo widied tJaam \» «JCAtf«$s^*»^ 



222 TRANSACTIONS AT 

him with their wives and female attendants ; \m% 
he desired them on no account to mention to ilie 
latter the place of their destination, lest they should 
inadvertently betray their intention, and the go- 
verning chief prevent their departure. A laige 
canoe was soon got ready, and every necessary 
preparation made for the voyage. As they were 
on the point of departure, they asked him if he 
would not take a Tonga wife with him. He re- 
plied, no ! but he should probably find one by the 
way. This they thought a joke, but in obedience 
to his orders they said no more, and, every body 
being on board, they put to sea. As they approach- 
ed the shores of Hoonga, he directed them to steer 
to a certain point, and having come close to a 
rock, according to his orders, he got up, and de- 
sired them to wait there while he went into the 
sea to fetch his wife. Without staying to be ask- 
ed any questions, he sprung into the water from 
that side of the canoe farthest from the rock, swam 
under the canoe, and proceeded forward into tlic 
sanctuary which had so well concealed his greatest 
and dearest treasure. Every body on board was 
exceedingly sui'piised at his strange conduct, and 
began to think him insane. After a little lapse of 
time, not seeing him come up, they were greatly 
alarmed for his safety, imagining a shark must 
have seized him. Whilst they were all in the ut- 
most concern, debating what was best to be done, 
whether they ought to dive down after him, or 
wait according to his orders, for that perhaps he 
had only swum round and was come*, up in some 
nJdie of the rock, \iilei\<Xvivy:^ xo ^^ox^^^ them, — 

thoir wonder was ixvcrewR^OL \i«HWv^ ^ ^wi^x^ i*. 

expression, on seeing \vim r»c ^» ^^>«^^ ^t«\^'8^ ^ ^^^^ 



THE TOUGA ISLANDS. 228 

water, and come into tlie canoe with a beantiful 
female. At first they mistook lier for a ^ddeas, 
anct their astonit«liment was not lessened when they 
recognised her countenance, and found lier to l»e a 
person, whtnn they had no doubt was killed in the 
general massacre of her family. Tliis they tlionght 
must ))e her apparition ; but how agreeably was 
their wonder softened down into the most inte- 
resting feelings, when the young chief related to 
them the discovery of the cavern and the whole 
circumstances of her escape ! They arrived safe at 
one of the Fiji Islands, and resided with a certain 
chief during two years : at the end of which time, 
hearing of the death of the tyrant of Vavaoo, the 
young chief returned with his vidfe to the last 
mentioned island, and lived long in peace and hap- 
piness. 

Such, as to matter of fact, is the substance of 
the account given by tlie old mataboole. There 
was one thing however stated, wluch might i^pear 
in oppoMtion to probability, viz. that the chiefs 
daughter remained m the cavern two or three 
months, before her lover found an opportunity of 
taking her to the Fiji Islands. If tlus be true, there 
must have been some other concealed opening ki 
the cavern to have afforded a fresh supply of air. 
With a view to ascertain this, Mr Manner swam 
with the torch in his hand up both the avenues 
before spoken of, but without discovering any o- 
pening ; he also climbed every accessible plac^*, 
witli as little success. At the time Jeremiali 
Iliggins was in diis cavern it was neai'ly low wa- 
ter. He felt a draught of air coiwvw^ S\w\\ ^'^ 
left, and on examining t\\e sowvv^i ol \v^ ^w«A jsw 
Jjole lyhicb lie tfiinks was \i\ove \X\a3CL ^ ^^'^'^ ^"^^ 



S94 TRAHSACTtONS Af . 

jlksetery.lhMn which pnNseeded a tolerably itfafiitt 
and vtoiidy breese^ but not the least glimmer m 
ligbl.' This opeiling he gneaiee to have been at 
Iwt time about firar leet abdnb th^'raiiace 6f 
tbe water. When Mr Mariner was tbeilBy it 
most have been neariy high' water, and the ImM 
fMbably o6vei'ed ; and, even if it were not dM^ 
eMledy 'it would traastaont n6 Gureht of^tdt 3fe> 
wardly, mless the -tide were gbmg only'' which 6e 
Ainks was not the case; At & &iie'Epgggfi^ 
urm there, the weather Mi peiifi|dtlv.cid^ 
breath of wind stiiring ; coilsei^^aendyy wb inft|lk 
of iedr nMt hare been occairi^ned br Ae de^MJd 
of the rarfaoe of stater irHAiikr' (M ite dfiier 
hand, when the water ri8e%itlirib'hriiltt*hiilk'^^^ 
Thif 'HtMnfy fherefofB, luij^ be ' snd to' n^nte u|bi 
an animal ; the risejldyl of the tide acAh^^'ib 
a diaphragtD, aD#-M'^am>Te moitioned narrow 
pasBfli^ as » bNidbig hole. Jeremlab IfiggUi 
also heard the story of the yonng bhief aAd fb 
mistress, which perfeetly accorded in all the mate- 
rial points widi: what n told abore* It appean 
frdm his nteatum, as well as (hnn Mr Msrinei^ 
lliat the natives give this aeconnt d the tWq loven 
as a piece of true histfMy, ndt a romance. Thep 
is a sort of shelf tt'ti^^'ftrther end of the caverV 
and high up,' w9i^ is pointed out as havmg bee 
used Tor ft bra^Ji^M^ 

Rdow MXd his' party having finished their cav 
dired ont of the cavern, and resmned their pro[ 
dress ; after which they proceeded across the col 
try, and got into the pnblic roads, to amuse thf 
aelwes with tbe spoTl ^ ^hootin^ rats. These .' 
naah are not eo lsrg& 9B \tv ons \ras^& ^ ^^'w 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 225 

and much of the same colour. Tbey live chiefly 
upon such vegetable substances as. sugar-cane, 
bread-fruit, &c. They constitute an article of food 
with the lower orders of people, but who are not 
allowed to make a sport of shooting them, this 
privilege being reserved for chiefs, matabooles, and 
mooas. * The plan and regulations of the game 
off anna gooma (rat-shooting), ai'e as follow : 

A party of chiefs and others having resolved to 
go rat-sliooting, their attendants are ordered to 
roast some cocoa-nut, which being done, and the 
chiefs having informed them what road they mean 
to take, these attendants proceed along the ap- 
pointed road, chewing the roasted nut very finely 
as they go, and spitting, or rather blowing, a little 
of it at a time out of their mouths with consider- 
able force. In doing this, great care is taken not 
to scatter the particles £Eur from each other ; for if 
they were widely distributed, the rat would not 
be tempted to stop and pick them up ; and if the 
j)iece8 were too large, he would run away with 
one piece, instead of stopping to eat his fill. The 
but is thus distributed, at moderate distances, on 
each side of the road, and the men proceed till 
they arrive at the place appointed for them to stop 
at. If in their way they come to any cross roads, 
they stick a reed in the ground in the middle of 
such cross roads, as a taboo or mark of prohibition 
for any one to come that way, and disturb the 
rats while the chiefs are shooting ; and this no one 
will do. Even were a considerable chief to ap- 
proach, on seeing the taboo he will stop at a dis- 

* Por « description of these ymv\l4 vcv ^t^twiX^ ^ «^«. '^Saa 
Mutgect in the second volume. 



226 TRANSACTIONS AT 

tance, and Bit down on tlie gronn<I, oot ef mpect 
or politeness to his fellow-chiefs, and wait p»- 
iiMitty till tfae shooting party has gone by. A 
petty chief, or one of the lower orders, wonld not 
dare to infringe upon this tSboo at the risk of his 
life. The distributors of the bait being arrived at 
the place appointed for them to stop at, sit down 
to prepare cava, having previously given the orders 
of their chiefs to the owners of the neighbouring 
plantations to send a supply of re&eshments, such 
as porky yams, Ibwls^ and ripe plantains. 

Hie company of chiefs having divided them- 
selves into two partiesi set out about ten minutes 
afier the bo6M (the distributors of bait), and fol- 
low each other closely in a row along the middle 
of the roady armed with bows and arrows. It must 
be noticed, however, that the two parties are 
mixed ; the greatest chief, in general, proceeding 
first, behind him one of the opposite party, then 
one of the same party with the first, and behind 
him again one of the other party, and so on alter- 
nately. The rules of the game are these : no one 
may shoot a rat that is in advance of him, except 
he who happens to be first in the row (for their 
situations change, as will directly be seen) ; but 
any one may shoot a rat that is either abreast of 
him or behind him. As soon as a man has shot, 
whether he hits tlie rat or not, he changes his si- 
tuation with the man behind him, so that it may 
happen that the last man, if he have not shot so often 
as the others, may come to be first, and vice versa the 
first come to be last ; and for the same reason, two 
or three, or more) of the same party, may come to 
be immediately bekmid oin^ %xisi'<^x. "^^^[NcAjdcAs^vK 
i»rty kills teu rata BreS ^'^»*^^ ^©**^- ^'^k^ 



THE TOJiGA ISLANDS. 297 

be plenty of rats, the^i^ generally play three or four 
games. As soon as they f^ve at any cross roads 
they pnll np the reeds placed as a tdbooy that pas- 
sengers coining afterwards may not be intermpt- 
ed in their progress. When they have arrived at 
the place where the booki are waiting, they sit 
down and partake of what is prepared for them ; 
afterwards, if they are disposed to pursue their 
diversion, they send the bo6M on to prepare ano- 
ther portion of the road. The length of road pre- 
pared at a time is generally about a quarter of a 
mile. If, during the game, any one of either party 
see a fair shot at a bird, he may take aim at it ; if 
he kill it, it counts the same as a rat ; but whe- 
ther he hit it or not, if he venture a shot, he 
changes place with the one behind him. Every 
now and then they sto^t and make a peculiar noise 
with the lips, like the squeaking of a rat, which 
frequently brings them out of the bushes, and they 
sit upright on their haunches, as if in the attitude 
of listening. If a rat is alarmed by their approach, 
and is running away, one or more cry out too ! 
(stop !) witJi a sudden percussion of the tongue, — 
a term used, we may suppose, (m account of the 
sharp and sudden tone with which it may be pro- 
nounced. Tliis has generally the effect of making 
the rat stop, when he sits up, and appears too 
much frightened to attempt his escape. When he 
is in the act of running away, the squeaking noise 
with the lips, instead of stopping him, would cause 
him to run faster. They frequently also use ano- 
ther sound, simUar to what we use when we wish 
to answer in the affirmative wthoxiV «^«sivw^ ^^ 
lips, consiatiDg in a aort of \nmiTfi\ii^ TycJNfife^ ^^^aA- 

VOL J. T "^ 



228 TRANSACTIONS AT 

ing through the nostrils, but more loud, short, and 
sudden. The arrows used on these occasions are 
neariy six feet long (the war-arrows being about 
three feet), made of reed, headed with iron-wood. 
They are not feathered, and their great length is 
requisite, that they may go straight enough to hit 
a small object; besides which, it is advantageons' 
in taking an aim through a thick bush. Each in- 
dividual in the party has only two arrows ; f<H*, as 
soon as he has discharged one from his bow, it is 
immediately brought to him by one of the attend- 
ants who follow the party. The bows also are ra^ 
ther longer than those used in war, being about 
six feet, the war-bows being about four feet and a 
half; nor are they so strong, lest the difficulty of 
bending them slurald occasion a slight trembling 
of the haad, which would render the lum less 
certain. 

Finow and his friends having finished their shoot- 
ing excursion, and taken some refreshment, direct- 
ed their walk at random across the island, and ar- 
rived near a rock, noted by the natives as being, 
in their estimation, the immediate cause of the 
origin of all the Tonga islands. The tradition mns 
thus : — It happened once (before these islands were 
in existence) that one of their gods (Tangaloa) 
went out fishing with a line and hook. It chsmced, 
however, that the hook got fixed in a rock at the 
bottom of the sea, and, in consequence of the god 
pulling in his line, he drew up all the Tonga isl- 
ands, which, they say, would have formed one 
great land ; but the line accidentally breaking, the 
^ict was incomplete, and m«XXj^t« ^^t^ l^ft as they 
now are. They show ft YvoVe m xJfta tq^> t^^qoq^ 
two feet diameter, wVudi qmxe ^^£tlw»Jw» \S «^^ 



THE fONGA ISLANDS. 1tf9 

in which Tangaloa's hook got fixed. It is more- 
over Bud, that Tooitonga (the divine chief) had, 

^till within a few years, this very hook in his pos- 
session, which had heen handed down to him by 
his forefathers ; but, unfortunately, his house cater- 
ing fire, the basket in which the hook was kept 
got burnt with its contents. Mr Mariner once 
asked Tooitonga what sort of a hook it was, and 
was told that it was made of tortoise-shell, strength- 
ened by a piece of the bone of a whale ; in size 
and shape it was just like a large albacore hook, 
measuring six or seven inches long, from the curve 
to the part where the line was attached, and an 
inch and a half between the barb and the stem. 
Mr Mariner objected that such a hook must have 
been too weak for the purpose : '^ Oh no, " said 
Tooitonga, " you must recollect that it was a 
god's hook, and could not break. " — ** How came 
then the line to break ? was it not also the pro- 
perty of a god ? ** — ^' I do not know how that 
was, " replied Tooitonga ; ** but such is the ac- 
count they give, and I know nothing farther about 
it." 

A few days after this excursion, Finow having 
portioned out several of the smaller islands to the 
government of certain of his chiefs and matabooles, 
returned with his party to Vavaoo. As soon as 
he arrived at Felletoa, he issued orders for a ge- 
neral assembly of the people, to be present on an 
appointed day, at a general fono, or harangue, to 
be addressed to them in regard' to ajSairs of ag- 
riculture, and to remind them of their duty to- 
wards their chiefs, and how tha^ oTXJ^WftXs^OM^^ 
B$ all public ceremonies ; m dioxX., vk^wv «^^ ^^"T 

jeeig as were more or less cotmec^i 'wStv ^^^^" 



230 TRANSACTIONS AT 

' ture, or with moral and political duty. Thes^ 
fonoi are frequently held, and often upon subjects 
of a minor importance, such, for instance, as the 
expediency of repairing Rnow's canoe. On such 
an occasion, the owner of a certain plantation 
would be appointed to provide the carpenters .with 
provisions, another to provide them with canoe- 
timber, a third with a peculiar kind of wood for 
wedges, &c.— Sometimes on more extensive mat- 
ters: as constructing a large house, planting of 
yams or bananas, supplying provisions for feastty 
burials, &c ; and in aJl these matters a tax is hud 
upon the people, every principal owner of land 
providing his share* The fono now about to be 
held was of a general nature, to be addressed to 
all the people, or^ least to itie petty chiefs ; but 
the petty chiefis themselves often address fonos to 
their own dependants, when they want any thing 
done. It must be observed, that in all these ybnof, 
whether general or partial, the labour and care fiedl 
entu-ely upon the lower order of the people ; for 
although in the general fono the petty chiefs take 
tJie care ostensibly to themselves, yet afterwards, 
by a minor fonoy each confers it on his depend- 
ants. Notwithstanding all this, the lower classes 
have time on their hands, and means enough in 
their possession, to live comfortably ; that is to 
say, they have food suihcient for themselves and 
their families, plenty of clothing, a house is easily 
built, and real poverty is not known among tliem. 
A foTWy although it may regard some aifair of a 
public nature, is not always upon a subject where 
a tax is necessary to W \eiv\ftd^ but frequently up- 
on some matter coiwieci\fc«\ wJ^ cw^ ^^^x^ \ ^ 
for iiutaace,— wb^n a ijii^cft o\ ^wKB^Sa\»A.N««^^>^ 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. 231. 

by war, certain persons are appointed to cnltiyate 
it ; and the chie^ are ordered not to oppress them 
with taxes, or with visits on such plantations, be- 
fore they can supply means. It not unirequently 
happens, that young chiefs molest women whom 
they meet on the road; then their husbands, if 
they are married women, make complaints to the 
older chiefs and matabooles, and Finow, in conse- 
quence, orders a fono to be addressed to the peo- 
ple, in which the impropriety of the conduct of 
the young chiefs is pointed out. The offenders 
receive a suitable admonition, and are ordered to 
desist from such ill behaviour for the future. From 
one cause or another, there is usually a^bfto, either 
general or partial, every fourteen or twenty days. 
Addresses of this kind are absolutely and frequent- 
ly necessary, for the preservation of tolerable de- 
cency and good order, among a people who have 
no means of graphic communication. The speech 
is generally made by some old mataboole. * 

On the present occasion, the ceremony was held 
at Macave, about two miles and a half from Fel- 
letoa ; after which, as usual, a large bowl of cava 
was provided. The chiefs and warriors of Va- 
vaoo took a very active part in the preparation of 
the cava, to demonstrate to Finow their attention 
and loyalty. The first bowl being drunk, and 
while ail were in expectation that the king would 
give out some more cava root to be prepared, — on 

* The reader will recollect, that the matabooles hold a 
rank in society next below chiefs. They are the ministers, 
as it were, and counsellors of chiefs. It \% x!dsax ^>3N^ "^^^^^ 
to attend to public ceremomes, and \» Vft«v ^^"^ «^^^3!^«^ 
the morals and general conduct ol xSaa ip«o^\a* 

2 T 



2d2 TRANSACTIONS AT 

a 8udd0n be pronounced aloud the word boogi 
(hold, or arreet). Instantly all the chiefs and war- 
riore that had been particularly active against him 
in the late war were seized by men previously ap- 
pointed. Their hands were tied fast, and they 
were taken down to the beach, where, with the 
club, several were immediately despatched; the 
remainder being reserved till the afternoon, for 
what is considered a more signal punishment, vis. 
to be taken out to sea and sunk in old leaky ca* 
noes. This transaction seemed to show how lit- 
tle |iras to be trusted to the honour of Finow ; but 
it must, however, be acknowledged that he had 
received information of a conspiracy which these 
dbiafa were designing against him, which, if true, 
his conduct was certainly less reproachable. * Ap« 
prebensive that this attempt might fail, or that the 
Vavaoo people, in consequeuce, might again rise 
up against him, Finow had previously sent a canoe 
to the Hapai Islands , with orders to Toobo Toai 
that he and his cliiefs should hold themselves in 
readiness to repair to his assistance at a moment's' 
qotice. Tliere proved, however, to be no neces-r. 
sity for their intervention, the conspiracy succeed*' 
ing in a degi-ee equal to his expectation. Some 
difhculty, however, was found in securing Caea- 
hoo, who, although highly diseased with scrofula, 
was a very brave waiTior and a mataboole ; and, 

* Although tlicir innocence was never positively assert- 
ed, nobody supposed that they had actually entered into 
any plan of conspiracy ; but most persons suspected tliat 
tbejr had held discourses \]i\)Otv vVi^ ^Mb^eet\ ami it was gc- 
.Jjerai/y acknowledged, tbaXv( a.x«sc\x.'ww^\tt Xakfe-^^R*^ 
these would be the men \\\LeVj \» ^«»^ >*» ^^^ '^^.'^^ 
suzxuxuury way of managing matters m ViM& ^v»\» ^^5. waa^^^ . 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 23S 

like most brave waniore, according to the Fiji 
practice, always upon his guard against treachery. 
They had therefore recourse to stratagem on this 
occasion. Mr Mariner s services were required as 
the means, to which he consented, on being inform- 
ed that the king's intentions were merely to confine 
him as a prisoner till some parts of his conduct 
were examined into ; and had it not been for the 
part which this gentleman was appointed to act in 
the business, two cr tliree no doubt would have 
been killed, and several wounded, in the attempt. 
Owing to his diseased appearance, Cacahoo was 
not present at the cava party after the fono (in- 
deed he was seldom present on any public occa- 
sion, except to fight) ; and it was resolved, there- 
fore, that a young warrior, in company with Mr 
Mariner and others, should go and present him with 
cava at his residence, as soon as the above chiefs 
were seized. Mr Mariner was to sit next him, 
and to ask him for his spear, as if to look at it 
from cmiosity ; for this spear was a remarkably 
good one, headed with the bones of the tail of the 
fy (sting-ray), and he always canied it about with 
him. Mr Mariner could take this liberty better 
than any one else, for they were pretty well ac- 
quainted ; and being a foreigner, his cmiosity ap- 
peared more plausible, fo^d less subject to suspi- 
cion. Having got it into his hands, he was to 
throw it away, which was to be the signal for the 
seizure. Before Cacahoo had time to hear of 
what was going forward at Macave, the appointed 
party arrived at his house, and presented Uiuv <»n'^* 
»Mr Mariner took bis seat •, «iii3L\va.Nm'S£> ^g2^^««»• 

* 3Ir Mariner was not, In man^ vu^Xajaecs^ ^ ^^'^^'^*^ 



234 TRANSACTIONS AT 

session of the spear, he watched his opporttmity. 
In a moment his enemies were upon him ; but he 
sprang from the gronnd like an enraged lion, and 
biiTst from them repeatedly, with such prodigious 
strength, that it was with the greatest difficulty they 
could bind and secure him. They then took the 
prisoner down to the sea-coast, and put him on 
board a canoe, to be drowned with the rest in the 
afWnoon. 

These transactions happened in the morning. 
After which, all the Hapai chiefs and warri(ns 
diat were with the king, appeared under arms, as 
also a certain Vavaoo chief, named Pao6nga, a re* 
ktiim and cmifident of Finow; the rest of the 
Vavaoo chieft and matabooles remaining unarmed, 
lest they might excite in Finow a suspicion that 
they meant to take hostile measures. About 
mid-day, the large canoe, in which were the pri- 
soners, lashed hand and foot, pushed out to sea, 
under the command of Lolo Hea Malohi, an 
adopted son of Finow, having also on board three 
small canoes, in a very leaky, rotten state, in which 
the prisoners were destined to be put, and allow- 
ed gradually to sink, reflecting on their approach- 
ing dissolution, without having it in their power to 
help themselves. 

The distance they had to go was about two 
leagues ; and the weather being calm, the canoe 
was obliged to be paddled most of the way. In 
the meanwhile, some conversation passed between 
the prisoners/ particularly between Nowfaho and 

supporter of Finow' s conducl. lin^. «& Tvtjtt^ssitY has no 
^wv in some cases he was o\A\g,eA \a cow^wm^ ^V«^V^ 
would willinflly have beei\ eneuwsd, >xv*tv <Gft ^Tvws^^ 
^bstoftwo evSs tiic least i« ^ >» ^««^* 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. ' 235 

Booboonoo. Nowfaho observed to Sooboonoo, 
tbat it would have been much better if tbey had 
never made a pedce with Finow, and, to a certain 
degree, be upbraided Booboonoo with not having 
followed his advice. To this the latter replied, 
that he did not at all regret the late peace with 
Finow, for, being his relation, he felt himself at- 
tached to his interests, and as to his own life, he 
thought it of no value, since the king did not 
think his services worth having. NowfsJio stated, 
that he had a presentiment of his fate that very 
morning ; for, while he was going along the road 
from Felletoa to Macave, he met a native woman 
of Hapai, and as he passed, he felt a strong incli- 
nation, he knew not from what cause, to kill her ; 
and this bias of his mind was so powerful, that 
he could not help turning back and effecting his 
purpose. At the same time he felt a secret pre- 
sentiment that he was going to die, and this mur- 
der that he had committed appeared now to be a 
piece of vengeance on the Hapai people, weak, 
indeed, in itself, yet better than no revenge at all. 
Among other things, Nowfaho lamented that his 
friend Booboonoo had not repaired to the Fiji 
Islands when peace was first made, and, by that 
means, have preserved his life. As to his own 
safety, he said it was not a matter of much con- 
sequence ; he only lamented that he was not 
about to die in an honourable way. Booboonoo 
expressed sentiments to the same purpose. Cacar 
boo now and then joined in the conversation, re- 
marking, that he only lamented his doath inas- 
much as no opportunity had beeiv ^fiksttLvAViKSfik. ^ 
reveaging himself. ^ 

There were eighteea ^T\aotMsi^ 'si^ \wsws^> 



236 TRANSACTIONS AT 

whom the greater part, before they arrived at the 
place iHiere they were to be siink, begged that 
the manner of their death might be changed to 
die more expeditious one of having their brains 
knocked oat. This was granted them, and the 
work of execntion was immediately began. Hav- 
ing despatched three in this way, it was proposed, 
for the sake of convenience, that the remainder, 
who begged to be thus favoured, should be taken to 
a neighbouring small island to be executed ; which 
being agreed on, they disputed by the way who 
shoold kill snch a one, and who another. Nine were 
despatched at neariy the same time, and the remain- 
ing six being chiefs, and staunch warriors of superior 
bravery, scorning to beg any favour of their ene- 
mies, were accordingly lashed in two rotten ca- 
noes, three in each ; and their destroyers remain- 
ed at a little distance to see them sink. Booboo- 
noo, whilst in this situation, said, that he only 
died unhappy on account of his infant son, who 
would be left friendless and unprotected ; but, 
calling to a young chief in the larger canoe, of the 
name of Talo, begged, for the sake of their gods, 
that he would befriend his child, and never see ' 
him want either clothes or food suitable to the 
son of a chief. Upon which Talo made a solemn 
promise to take the most attentive care of him, 
and Booboonoo seemed quite satisfied. Nowfaho 
lamented the sad disasters of that day, saying how 
many great and brave men were dying an ignomi- 
nious death, who not long since had made the 
whole army of Finow tremble. He lamented, 
moreover, that he bad evex xetce&ted from his ene- 
mea, and wished tbaXy on «».Odl «bl ocA^aiNssv^ V^ 
Aa«f &ced about, howeyec Vnienot \rLtte«wg^> i«^ 



THE TONGA ISLANDS.^ 237 

Bold his life at a high price, instead of living a lit- 
tle longer, to die a shameful death. He earnest- 
ly requested them to remember him in the most 
i^ectionate manner to his wife. Cacahoo swore 
heartily at ]Fmow, and all the chiefs of Hapai» * 
and their fathers for begetting them, heaping ma- 
ledictions upon all their generation. In this man<r 
ner he went on, cursing and swearing at his ene«> 
mies, till the water came up to his mouth, and, 
even then, actually raised his head for the oppor- 
tunity of uttering another curse, spluttering the 
water forth from his lips, till it bereft him for ever 
of the power of speech. They were about twenty 
minutes sinking, after which the large canoe re- 
turned to Vavaoo. 

Booboonoo and Nowfaho were amiable charac- 
ters. In time of war they were brave and enter-' 
prising ; in time of peace, gentle and humane. 
The conduct of Nowfaho, in killing the poor Ha^ 
pai woman, seems to make much against hb hu- 
manity ; but, as it was so contrary to his general 
sentiments and conduct, we ought to have the li-r 
berality to suppose, that it was a sudden frenzy of 
the mind, which, at the moment, he could no 
more help, than a man in convulsions can help the 

* The curses used among the Tonga people are very 
Qunerous ; but, for the most part, they are rather horrid 
ble commands than curses, and are, generally, in regard 
to maltreating or eating one*s superior relations ^ for it is 
considf red a crime to eat food which a superior reladon 
has touched ; how much more, therefore, to eat that rela^ 
tion himself! For a sample; — *< Bake your grandfather 
till his skin turns to cracknel, and gnaw his skull for ^qeskc 
share ! "— ** Go, and ravish your own ws^jetX"^— J'^'^Ofv^xs^^^ 
your father by moonlight, and maVe wax"^ o1 \v\^ \s«ti«*»^ 

*r. &c. Many of their sayings, in \XiV& ^«^> wt \s»'vft»R« 

fipate to mention. 



238 TRANSACTIONS AT 

violent agitation of the body. Let this, however, 
foe as it may, it is certain ^t he and Booboonoo 
were both esteemed for their mild and benevolent 
disposition, and were gaining every day, more and 
more, the love of the people, which, no doubt, 
caused the king to be jealous of them, lest their 
increasing power should ultimately annihilate his. 
Nowfaho's desire of revenge was, of course, consi- 
dered (in their state of society) a virtuous and 
manly sentiment. If we attend to their conversa'^ 
tion at the approach of death, we shall find them 
both expressing sentiments of disinterested Iriend- 
ship for each other. Booboonoo is quite unhappy 
at leaving his infant son, and recommends him 
strongly to the care of Talo by all that is sacre<l 
and religious. Nowfaho desires to be affectionate- 
ly remembered to his wife. These are not senti- 
ments that belong to gross and savage minds. As 
to Cacahoo, he certainly was not so much famed 
for his benevolence, as for his prodigious strength 
and great personal courage ; yet still he was much 
beloved and respected ; and several of the En- 
glishmen were much indebted to him, as well as 
to the other two, for many acts of kindness. Mr 
Maiiner heai'd these particulars from Talo, and 
two or three othere that were in the large canoe, 
and considers it strictly consonant with tlie truth. 
The widows of those who were executed on the 
beach in the morning, and of those who were des- 
patched at the small island in their way out to sea, 
petitioned Finow to grant them leave to perform 
the usual rites of burial in behalf of their deceased 
Jiushanday which ihe \m\^ xeajSS^^ ^KAyi^<t\\»\ *ad 
^ey accomplished tli© cercinaa^ ^^ «^«c^ 'sbs^ 
of unfeigned sonow wvd T^^eX. ^'Wneb. ^SoaX^ 



THX TOUOA ISUkVDS. 239 

ftSe^tkmlite remembninces of Nowfaho were made 
to hie widow, she appeared greatly moved. She 
retired to her house, and, arming: herself witli a 
epear and clab, went about to seek for the voUier 
widows, who bad lost their hasbands in the same 
way, and urged them to take np arms, as she had 
done, and go forth to revenge their hnabands' death, 
by destroying the wives of Finow, and his princi- 
pal chiefs. Finding, at length, that none of the 
others were willing to follow her example, she 
was obliged to give up the design altogether. It 
was suspected that Finow would have been very 
angry on hearing her intention, but, on the con- 
trary, he praised it mnnch, and approved of it, as 
being not only a meritorious act of bravery, but a 
convincing proof that her affection for her deceas- 
ed husband was great and genuine. After this 
l^'aasaction, all the Vavaoo chiefe paid remarkable 
attention to Finow, not failing to send him fre^ 
quent presents of cava, gnatoOy kc for they now 
found, by woful experience, that he was not il 
man to be trifled with, and that his honour was 
not safely to be trusted to. 

The king now spent a considerable portion of 
bis time in country excursions, for the purpose of 
shooting kiiiai, of which sport a description has 
already been given. About this time a canoe 
Was despatched to the Hapai Islands, for the pur- 
pose of procuring a quantity of fish, several species 
being there found in much greater abundance than 
at Vsivaoo, or, at least, there is a much better op** 
portmiity of catching them, owing to tKe ^^"c^jst 
number of reefs and shelves. >NV\\v \>»J^ c«sift^'» ^ 

VOL. I. u 



140 TRANSACTIONS AT 

certain cbief, named Mabe Boogoo^ departed for 
Hapai, where he* possessed a large property, on 
which he was desirous to reside for the future. 
Mahe Boogoo had also a plantation at Vavaoo, 
situated on the northern coast, about a mile and a 
half long, and half a mile broad, one end of which 
ran down close to the water's edge. This jhto- 
perty he made a present of to the king. It will 
be proper to give a description of this plantation, 
because it includes, near tbe sea, the most roman'^ 
lie spot in all the Tonga Islands ; which consti- 
tutes the subject of many of their songs, and is a 
place of resorl to the young and old of both sexes, 
who wish to enjoy, for a few hours, the luxury of 
romantic scenery. Jt is fiEunons, also, for having 
been, at a former epoch, the scene of an enter* 
prising action on the part of some young chiefs, 
who took refuge there from their adversaries, apd 
obstinately held their position for six months^ 

It happens that Nature has assembled in this 
spot, not only the wildest profusion of the vegeta* 
ble kingdom, over which the lofty toa tree stands 
pre-eminent, but also objects of another descripr 
tion. Overhanging rocks, hollow-sounding ca- 
verns, and steep precipices, calculated to give an 
aspect as bold and sublime as the imagination can 
well conceive, and constituting a species of scen- 
ery, which, in proportion as it is more rare, is 
more admired by the natives. To this retired 
spot you proceed along a road, which runs through 
the whole length of the plantation, till you arrive 
at a thick wood of tarmnoo and toa trees, situated 
on a very steep descent, dovm ^Vvvilv the road be- 
eomes a narrow ptttb, ma^x^^ ^««^ ^^^^ ^ ^sAft^ 
md beset on eitber band waV <^^^ mV^Uva^ JvaV 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 241 

and other shrabs, planted by the liberal hand of 
Natursy whose variegated flowers perfume the air 
with the most delightful aromatic fragrance ; 
whilst, from the lofty branches of the trees, the 
ear is soothed with the soft and plaintive voice 
of the wood-pigeon. Having proceeded with slow 
and lingering step along this winding path, for 
about five hundred yards, a flat plantation of 
cocoa-nut trees presents itself, through which, at a 
Jittle distance, a beautiful prospect of the sea sud- 
denly bursts upon the view. On each side a steep 
and lofty ridge of rocks, in the form of a crescent, 
extends into the water, forming a sort of bay. 
The rocks on the left hand are, for the most part^ 
the h^hest, but, at the termination of those on 
the right, one, loftier than the others, extends up- 
wards to a great height, like the turret of some 
ancient battlement. On this rock in former times, 
as popular tradition records, a band of young chiefs, 
the heads of a conspiracy, took refuge from the 
rage of their adversaries, and held the place for 
six months ; * it being quite inaccessible, except 
by one narrow path, exceediogly steep and dan- 
gerous, not wide enough to allow two persons to 
pass abreast. This passage was, of course, per- 
fectly under thfe command of those above, who, by 
rolling large stones down, could, at any time, huri 
destruction upon whomsoever mig^t rashly attempt 
to ascend. Here they remained in security, as 
long as their stock of provisions lasted ; and even 
when this was expended, they refused to yield, 
till lunine and raging thirst had destroyed all but 
threes who, being tempted by a ^toxma^ ^l '^'«9l- 

r ^ Tbey bad suppUed the place befoic^haxui m^ tn^ ^sn^ 
wkieb tbey lived during the whole tinxe* 



242 TRANSACTIONS AT 

don, gt¥a themselves up to their adrerBanei. 
Scarcely was this done when they were taken be* 
fore the king, who cruelly ordered them to be 
massacred in hii presence. The number of those 
who died upon the rock were five, and they were 
buried on the spot. Three of the graves are still very 
apparent; the otlier two are pointed out, but tJiey 
are not in so distinct a state. The natives now and 
then ascend it, to enjoy the sublime beauty of the 
surrounding scenery, or to reflect on the fate of 
those rebellious men, who, so long ago, departed 
from the scene of public tumult, by dying in an 
unsuccessful attempt to change the order of things. 
Hwe the moral reflections of the natives are some- 
times heard in the following strain. ^' Where now 
are those men who once held up their heads in 
defiance oT their chiefs ? where . now is the proud 
boast of superiority ? Their bodies lie here ming- 
led with the dust, and their names ai'e almost for- 
gotten ! * — But their souls 1 how are th^ affect- 
ed ? Are they now the same ambitious spirits in 
Bolotoo, as they were once in Tonga, wheti they 
animated this silent dust which is now all that re- 
mains of them?—- are they still the partisans of 
sedition, tumult, and war ? — but no I in Bolotoo 
they are all go<ls, and see with a clear understand- 
ing what is right, without tlie folly of fighting I " 

Such are the reflections of those who visit this 
spot, and view the lonesome habitations of the 

♦ The names of some of these chieft are still known to 

a few of the old mataboolcsi who have .been at the pains of 

inquiring particulars from tlisir fathers ; but the cause in 

^hich they sufiered ia ^ex^ \\x\\.'iixlviO(\^ M\Acf^\aKA> wvdl^ 

ao doubt, mixed up mtti a gteaX ^«iX ^Nsw^XiJMj^ «A 

^Miroaiscp 



TRB TONGA ISLANDS. 24S 

dead ; bat it is not often that such yiintB are madey 
owing to the difficulty of the ascent. In the esti* 
mation of the romantic, however, it is amply re« 
paid by the rich and extensive scenery on every 
side^ whilst the murmuring of the waves, breaking 
upon the rocks below, soothes the mind with a 

' pleasing melancholy easier to be conceived than 
described. The effect which this works upon the 
minds of the natives will be more easily under- 
stood when we see a sample of their descriptive 
songs, which in language, like that of Ossian, are 
plaintive and pathetic. In the first place, how- 
ever, it is necessary to state a few particulars re- 
lative to this romantic and diversified spot, that 
certain passives of the ensuing song may be better 
understood. 

On the right of the wood of tamanoo trees there 
is another wood, consisting almost wholly of to^ 
trees. Here the natives frequently resort to rinse 
diemselves with the firesh water found in the hol- 
lows, between the juncdons of the large branches 
or limbs that come off immediately from the 
trunk, after having bathed themselves in the sea ; 
for the salt water, without using such rinsing after- 
wards, is apt to produce, in hot climates, a cuta- 
neous «*aption. Besides which, the fresh water 
prevents ^t imeasy sensation of heat in the skin 
upon a little exertion, attended with a clammi- 
ness ; and sometimes, on the contrary, with a pro- 
mise perspiration. Here also they plait flowers 
which they have gathered at Matawto (about a 
mile forther along the beach), which the women 
put round their necks or take \\oi£k« \a ^<& TAooa^ 

find present to their lovers or X\ie\x livei^^^ ^ ^^ 

miperior dUe/s. 

u 2 



2Mt ' TRANSACTIOMB AT 

Tlie foUowiiig BOQg is very often sung bylfkiin, 
or, to speak pjerfasps more conectly, is giif^n in b 
sort of recitative by either sex ; and, in the Tonga 
language, has neither rhymes nor regular measure, - 
although some of their songs have both. It is 
perhaps a curious circumstance that loye and war 
seldom form the subjects of their poetical compo- 
sitions, but mostly scenery and mcoral reflections. 

SONG. 

Whilst we were talking of Vavdoo t6a LicoOj the women 
said to us, let us repair to the back o£ the island to con- 
template the setting sun : there let us listen to the warb- 
ling of the' birds and the cooing of the w'ood-pigcon. W^e 
will gather flowers from the burying^place at liaiAwto, and 
partake of refreshments prepared for us at JJcoo (ync: we 
will then bathe in the sea, and rinse ourselves in the Vdao 
A'ca ; we will anoint our skins in the sun with sweet 
sfcented oil, and will plait in wreaths the flowers gathered, 
at JMatdwlo. And now as we stand motionless on the 
eminence over Ana Mdnoq, the whistling of the wind 
among the branches of the lofty toa shall All us with a 
pleasing melancholy ; or our minds shall be seized with 
astonibbment as wc beliold the roaring surf below, endea- 
vouring but in vain to tear away the firm rocks. Oh ! 
how much happier shall we be thus employed, than when 
engaged in tlie troublesome and insipid affairs of life ! 

Now as night comes on, we must return to the Mooa : 
—•But hark !— -hear you not the sound of the mats ?— they 
are practising a bo-oola * to be performed to-night on the 
mnldi at Tanio, Let us also go there. liow will that 
scene of rejoicing call to our minds the many festivals 
held there, before Frtr^ioo was torn to pieces by war ! Alas, 
how de*!tructive is war '.—Behold ! how it has rendered 
the land productive of weeds, and opened untimely graves 
for departed heroes ! Our chiefs can now no longer enjoy 

the sweet pleasure of wandering alone by moonlight in 
search of their mistresses. But let us banish sorrow from 
our hearts : since we are at v;aT, vi^ xnu^V. ^vc^i. «xvd act 

• A kind of dance pcr£araift^>Q^ \«iOQr\v^v 



THB T03I0A ItLAVDB. 245 

likiB tiM aatifet of Fyi^ who fint tanght lu ttfii destruedve 
arU Let lu therefore enjoy the present thne, for to-mor* 
TOW perhaps, or the next day, we may die. We will dress 
ourselves with chi cwda, and put bands of white i&ppa 
round our waists. We will plait thick wreaths ofjutle for 
our heads, and prepare strings of hooni for our necks, that 
their whiteness may show off the colour of our skins. Mark 
how the uncultivated spectators are profuse of their ap- 
plause !— But now the dance is over : let us remain here 
to-Tught, and feast and be cheerful, and to-morrow we 
will depart for the Mooa. How troublesome are the young 
men, begging for our wreaths of flowers, while they say in 
their flattery, ^ Sse how charming these young ^rls look 
coming from Licoo /—how beautiful are their skins, dif- 
fusing around a fttigrance like the flowery precipice of 
Matahco : ** — Let us also visit Licoo; we will depart to- 
morrow. • 

The beautiful plantation, of which the above 
song is partly descriptive, is famed for the great 
fertility of its fields. The bread-frait and cocoa- 
nut trees grow there in abundance. The soil 
is also highly favourable for the cultivation of 
yams, which there are larger than in most other 

♦ A strictly literal translation of this interesting com- 
position, together with tlie original, will be found in the 
Tonga Grrammar appended to Vol. II. ; and we are indebt- 
ed to a literary friend for the following poetical version of it. 

Thus spoke the daughters of the Isle^ — 

O ! let us ramble to Licoo, 
And watch the broad sun's farewell smile. 

And hear the birds their songs renew. 
And listen whilst the moaning dove, 

Waile sadly in her native bowers, / 

* And o'er Matawto*s summit rove. 

And gather heaps of golden flowers. 

There ^lall our One fruits be shared^ 

There shall we lave by oceaiv^s iUoTQ^ 
There is the Aca's bath prepared, 
And there swcgt ointmcnt'ft ix^j^gnsA iiu>t« \ 



246 TRANSACTIONS AT 

places. The water, which tenninates k at om end^ 
is noted for the vast abundance of pecnliar GA 
that resort to the shores of Vavaoo about the 
month of July. Tliis fish, which they call Ooloi 
Caooy is about the nzeoF the common spnt, and 
of much the same shape and hue. The oonraioi 
pe<^le consider it a great delicacy, but there k 
considerable danger in eating it promiscnoualyi 

There shall we wreath in many a hue 
Matawto's flowers,— there plait thf cfai ; 

There, standing high at steep Manoci^ 
Oaie breathless on the distant sea. ^ 

Lost in a thousand rereries, 

A soothing calm parades the mmd^ 
As from the lofty toa-trees 

Comes murmuring past the inland wind ; 
Or deeper tbom^its perchance awake^ 

As gaziiy ott the tide below 
We see its suites idly break 

Against the rock's majestic brow. 

Ah ! happier far such hours as these 

Than ought we find in life's dull throng ! 
And, hark ! upon the evening breeze 

Floats faintly the bo-oola song ; 
And now to fair Tanea's lawn. 

The torch-light dance's merriment 
Has all the young and happy drawn. 

And thither shall our course be bent. 

How will that cheerful festival. 

And graceful dancers* circling band. 
The well-remembered times recal. 

Ere war had frowned upon our land ! 
Alas the change ! Behold rank weeds. 

Unheeded, cover many a field. 
And many a noble spirit bleeds. 

And heroes die who scorn to yield. 

No more our youths and maidens icAfti 
By moonligbt^ as they wseA. ot "joTe, 
^or, bark I the sona of Fijv \i«iX 

Their war-drums upon Totk^jBi'* w^^^'t •— 



TUB TOXGJL laLAHBS. S47 

for here aiid there is found one winch prodneee 
the most alanning end sometimes the most fetal 
effects. As there is no mark\hy whidbi' these 
poisonous ones may be known, it is dangerous to 
eat of them, unless they be procured in the rocky 
hay of this plantation, where, it is said, are never 
foimd any poisonous. The chiefe, however, sel- 
dom touch them, unless perhaps there is a scarci« 
ty of other fish. The time when they are best, 
and in the greatest plenty, is in the latter end of 
the month of July, when the nativea flock here 

So let U be ;*i-^way with thought ! "^ 

To catch our momeiits as they fly. 
Is wisdom that the foe has taught ; — 

Be gay — to-morrow we may die ! 

Yes, let us wear the coola gay, 

And round our waists the gnatoo twine» 
And ch^leta wreath of jiale^ 

And hooni necklaces that shine 
In milky whiteness on our skins, 

Sun-tinted with a golden brown,— 
And now, behold the feast b^ns, 

And jocund shouts the music drown. 

To morrow we return ; — ^to night 

We give our heart* to happiness ; 
And gentle words and glances bright 

Are ours, as crowding round us press 
Our eager lovers, begging sore, 

With many a honi^ word and sigh. 
For nosegays from our flowery store, 

Whilst thus the merry flatterers cry :— 

*^ Think you our maidens from Licoo 

Arc fairer than all maids beside ? 
Think you their necks of auburn hue 

The paleness of the hooni chide ? 
Tliink you that fragrance Ywealkhea axouxA^Ciacaa^ 

Sweet as the fragrance o£ V-jbool 
Oh ! surely some new clianxi Yi»s\)^ftiwl 
We too must n^t their licoo\^' 



IM TMAinucnom ait 

■V tMifH^otB Off -Cirtflhiiiij^ hmm i flin 



bf Mnrad » ti—liijj tfcif triw ilwn knM lir 
liiiirrfaiHlliiM m barinili flyMfe.il«lHlid kww d( 

' Miihn Bmmm^ dw dunftti whoai 

pi906 Of IpRPOBB iNNOOgBdy Mtflil|^ 

wth to the kiiw^ iad Bfr MoriiMr, Mnr dbl lh» 
irw wi iiM| MTing iwthhig to cmiij IibmhII 
i]i» he hugged ¥imw to gire it vm ^hSm, limkhm 
migkl aanMB luamK hj wmtagk piqpHljr cahU 
taladL To Abtfaein^ aftg aUttle hMlillM, 
c o a w t B d ; iad filr MariiMr requetted the hK<'f 

thet BO cUef might Mjfmi hk pkntitidn, inidfr 
prateil ef leyyiagaiyjpefliw |rf ceatribataog; end 
tUi eamBptioBy lie ofeeerfed^ leodkl ha no were- 
than what was eonmstent^widi the l!\onge c — tom » 
wfaiieh exacts no contrilniticm from f oreignen, «hi» 
less indeed it be upon some sacred occasion, as the 
ceremony of tnacAiy &c To this also ^ king gave 
his assent, upon mntoal agreement, that the wMe 
phuDtatioa waste be conddraed at ilnew*s serviost 
as^being the father and protector of Mr Manner^ 
but that he would not take any tibing nor trespass 
upon it in any way, without Mr Mariner's conifeilt» 
who was to regulate every thing regarding it jast. 
as he pleased, and was henceforUi to consider it aa 
his property, with all the p^nons who worked oa 

* The symptoiDS pfoduced by eating this fiah when, 

poisonous, are headachy nansea, Tomitiog, and diarrhoea^ 

with violent pains in the bowels, to wUch death geee* 

ralfy succeeds in Ae course of Ibtir or five hoofs^ Th» 

only nmedf thejr ma (wl&cV tw^ «ftN&SRft«Mc«edsYial»- 

^euMQ the patient drti^ ahuntav^i «* fwk«, w,^^^B>fc>a«r 

' ^ fa n a still hetter, ifaa qflkof yw»>c«»'>'^'»^ . » 



THX TOV6A UI.AVM. M§ 

ky twwiitiiig of thirteai men and t^ftl wrmtm 
To these tho king gave oiden, ihn iktf thaM 
pay the eaaw attentaoii and reapeet to Mr Man- 
ner aa to luaudf or their former cfaieL Henoie- 
overiBfonwMl theaMttotNi, or o r cia eer, that he had 
invested Mr Manner with fidl power to deipaifh 
any of them with the dnb that Cnled in their dnty^ 
or negleeted in any napect to Aaw proper atten* 
tian to thor new master. To ihia, in the ntntl 
form, they all retomed thanks to ihe ki^ for the 
new chief he had been pleased to appoint ofer 
them, and expressed their hopes that they dbonld 
nerer deservo pmuahment by any want of reapeet 
towards the ^ stnmger chief. " As aoim as Mr 
Mariner entered npon his new posspasioni, he gains 
Olden toget ready a laige bale of gnatoo, which 
ks aent to Finow ns i 
AbonttlnstiMMr 
odhynshsfk. One of his sfftnntB who 
npon the plantaliany had laid pots ahont fonr foot 
deep in ^ water, for the p m pu a e of caifhing 
cniy-fiih, and Mr Mariner one afternoon dived 
down to examine them, in hopes that he shonld ho 
nUe to folfil a pnMniae he lad mmfe to Tooho mo 
Lakrpi, the Prince s fovonrite wife (whose sitna- 
naynre d a few indnlgenoes), to bring her 
oftUsasrtoffish. The spot was jnit npon 
the p er p endi cnlar de d wr ily of n ahelf of rado. 
Hairing ooas np to take bwiKh, with the "«*—*»«■» 
of going down a aeoond tiaui, he aaw with tenor 
thedonilfoi of a sfamk g^£ng swifidy dong the 
amfooe of the water diroctly tovards hnn. He 
instantly ciambered npan Hut leel v^^i w^fraaaq^ «s^ 
owe Ade. In n m9meBl after, 1^ <^enAV} **''^*^^^ 
ouBiB^w-ith impetaoaly, riMhftd uyoa^^D^ ^oa>^ 



250 TftAVSACTIOVS AT 

I 

(in a foot tmd a half water) within a yard cf him^ 
and had some diificnlty to get off again. Aa soon 
as he had recoyered from his consternatioA, he 
qnickly got off the reef, making Tery strong resohi* 
tions to aroid for the fiitmre a personal search after 
cray-fish in sach. situations. 

Ahont a month after this a canoe came from 
one of the neighbounng small islands, bringing in* 
telligence that a large dead spermaceti whale had 
drifted on a reef, off Vavaoo. Immediately all 
the chiefs ordered their canoes to be laonched^ that 
they might witness this imusnal sight ; and Mr 
Mariner went along with them. They fofind the 
whale in a very bad state, half decayed, and send- 
ing forth a disagreeable odonr. This however they 
did not mnch regard ; for although some of the low- 
er orders managed to make a meal of it, their chief 
object was the teeth, of which they make a kind 
of necklace, by catting it into smaller pieces, each 
preserving the shape of a whale's tooth, from an 
inch to four inches long, having a hole in the 
broadest part. Through this hole they are closely 
stnmg, and put round the neck ; the largest being 
in front, and the others decreasing in size on each 
aide, up to the back of the nedc ; so that, when 
drawn close, their pointed extremities spread out, 
and form a very agreeable ornament upon their 
brown skins, which is much prized by them, on ac- 
count of its scarcity as well as beauty. This has 
given rise to the accounts which voyagers have 
given that they wear teeth round their necks, 
ivhereas they are only forms of teeth cut out of 
the tooth of the wha\e ; «ui vt. \s aatonishing with 
^hat neatness thej do thia, i»si\KBv% ^"^Mv^ ^sw^^Mji 
■• ii would be poanble to Ao ^wSJ^iiTKSMSivXrtWwHs^* 



THE TONGA ISLANDS.' 251 

strmnentB than what they possess — ^nothing, ini 
deed, but a common shaped Em-opean chisel, or 
a piece of a saw, or in defect of these, a flat- 
tened nail rendered sharp. Befwe they pro- 
cured iron from European ships, they made use of 
a sharp stone. This kind of ivory they also use 
to inlay their clubs with, as well as their wooden 
pillows, (see p. 122.), the high price set upon 
these ornaments will be exemplified in the foUow*^ 
ing account, which Finow, on this occasion, gave 
to Mr Mariner. 

A short time after the reyolt at Tonga, when 

Finow first became sovereign of Hapai and Va<' 

vaoo, news was brought him of a large dead whale 

being drifted on a reef, off a small island, inliabit- 

ed only by one man and his wife, who had the 

cultivation of a small plantation there. Finow 

immediately sailed for the place, and finding the 

teeth taking from the whale, questioned the manr 

bout them, who thereupon went to his house^: 

nd taking down a basket from the roof presented 

to him, but in it were only two teeth. The man 

Y^tested that he put them all there, and knew 

(thing more about them ; and taxing his wife 

th having concealed them, she acknowledged 

tt she had secreted one, and brou^t it to him, 

tn a place in which no others were found ; 

this she assured him was all she had taken. 

\ man defended his innocence on the plea 

the teeth would be of no use to him ; for 

1^ poor, he could not sell them for any 

' else, since every chief who could afford 

ve their value would qaeS^Mm \»& xv^^ \» 

and take them from \)&ni \ mi ^^^ ^^ 



851K TRANSACTIONS AT 

same reason, he could not wear them. Finow 
was not satisfied with this plea, and, the man still 
protesting his innocence, Finow ordered h|m to he 
immediately despatched witii a club. This being 
done, he again threatened the woman, and she as 
strongly protested her innocence; but when the club, 
^diich had just ended the life of her husband, was 
raised over her own head, she acknowledged that 
she had concealed another tooth, and accordingly 
brought it from a different place ; and being un- 
able or unwilling to produce any more, she shared 
^e same fate. If Finow's conduct here seems 
cruel, we are to place a great deal to the ac» 
count of the state of society in -wiiidi he liyed ; 
and, at the same time, we must consider, that 
robbery is punished with dealh in other countries, 
as well as in Tonga. Both the man and woman, in 
all probability, were guilty ;— -the woman certainly 
was ; and yet she could bear to see her husband 
sacrificed before her face, rather' than confess all 
she knew of the matter, and entreat mercy for 
him at least, if not for herself. The remainder 
of these teeth were discovered long afterwards, 
by the particidar intervention (as the natives will 
have it) of the gods. A few years had elapsed, 
when, there being occasion to build and consecrate 
a house to some god on the Island of Lefooga, it 
was taken into consideration what valuable article 
should be deposited beneath its foundation, accord- 
ing to the custom on such occasions. They were 
about to get ready a large bale of gnatoo for this 
purpose, when the inspired priest of the god de- 
clared it to be wish oi lih^ (^v^mVj lo have some 
vlia/e 8 teeth ; and thalt xSaaxe -wcwi ^n«w5i\s«»^ 
t^ogetber on the »m«ft\B\m^V^^»'^^^^'^>'^^^ 



THX tONOA ISLANDS. 258 

li particular spot ; which place being refeired to 
and dug up, the teeth were found in a pofect state. 
This discovery was most firmly and most piously 
believed to have been made by the sacred interpo- 
sition of the god himself, who inspired his favourite 
priest with the requisite knowle(^ to make it. 

In the Fiji Islands, whales' teeth are held, if pos- 
sible, in still greater estimation ; for it would be 
dangerous there for a man, unless he be a great 
chief, and even then, if he were a foreigner, to be 
known to have a whale's tooth about him. The 
personal possession of such valuable property 
would endanger his life. 

About this time the Hope, Captain Chase, of 
New York, arrived off the north-west coast of Va- 
vaoo. When Mr Mariner heard the agreeable in- 
telligence, he was with Finow at the small island 
of Ofoo, on the eastern coast, and he immediately 
asked the king leave to go on board, who very rea- 
dily and very kindly gave his permisMon. Several 
miOabooles were with him, one of whom whispered 
something to the king, which Mr Mariner ima- 
gining to be prejudicial to himself, endeavoured to 
distract Finow's attention, by repeatedly thanking 
him for his liberal conduct towards him, and ex- 
pressing the grateful sense he entertained of his 
long continued friendship and protection ; assuring 
him, that he had no other wish to leave the islands 
but what was prompted by the natural desire of 
returning to his native country, and the bosom of 
his friends. In the mean time, he very distinctly 
heard the king say to the mataboole, " But why 
should I keep him ? " and shortly aftet^ Vnx^ ^x^ssc 
to a BshenDsm to get ready \n&\axv\\.^ ^ ^^xXscsl c»^ 
Moe, and paddh Mr Mariojer on \i(mx^^ T««i«s«^ 



254 T&AKSACTIOV8 AT 

from lus mind a load of anxiBty. He again aad 
again thanked his benefactor ; and, taking an af- 
fectionate leave of faun, got into the canoe, and 
poshed off from the beach. Thero were three 
Bien to paddle, who, after fonr or ^Te honia hard 
pulling, came up alongside the vefisel. He saw 
upon the deck, Jeremiih Higgins, John Parish, 
and Hugh Williams. He hailed the ship ; when 
some one looked over the quarter, and nid, 
^ We can't take yoo, young man ; we hai^e more 
hands than we know what to do with. " Mr Mar 
nner could hardly believe the e^dence of his 
senses ; — ^not take him I when he saw three of his 
oampanions already on board. He began to ex- 
postulate—^ It is no use your saying any tiling, we 
can't take yon, "replied the other. He then offnied 
to procure whatever provisions the ship might want ; 
but the unfeeling miscreant turned lus back, and gave 
no answer. Thus, in one minute, from the elevation of 
hope his ^oul sunk into despair ; what to say — what 
to do — he kne w not. Beside suffering the acute pain 
of disappointment, he found himself in a very awk- 
ward dilemma. If the natives knew that the cap- 
tain had refused to take him, it would hurt his re- 
putation greatly in their esteem, as they would 
look upon him to be a low-bam toooy without 
friends or consideration in his own country. Dnr- 
ing tliis lime the men in the canoe were too much oc^ 
cupied in viewing the appearance of the ship, to pay 
much attention to him. Having at length a little 
recovered himself by resisting the disagreeable ideas 
tljat were crowding in upon his mind, he endear 
voured to assume a c\ieeT^ e4:>\mt«iiance ; and in- 
fortned the men thai \uQioT\^maX«^^ ^^ ^dm:^ 
bauMid to a country aa iai fewsi \aa, ^\aa 



fnBk ToBgE ; md ahiievigli ihe ii|ilJii widiBd kim 
t» OBBie an board, he bad determiiiedtBjreiiiamflt 
Vbwoo vntQ wnne Britiflli flfaq> flhiviild waxve* — 
WiA ^MJingfi list afaniMrt; dubed bk nttesnoe, be 
now ordered ibeiii to retani to Ofoo. Every body 
wondered to Me biin retmn : bk fltosy, buwever, 
WBB lendily beHered ; bnt it leemed strvnge ibat 
be bnd farongbt ibem no preaentB frsm on board. 
** Wbat a rnnnber of axes be bae got for ne ! " nid 
one ironicaUy: ^And wbat a beq) of locddng- 
gioflMB I " aid anodier. ^ Beads will now become 
quite comiBon,'^ aaidalbird; '^fior Ta^'m gaia^ 
to gii« necidaoeB to all ihe girk in Vavaoa.** 
These joke§ were exoeedin^ly marbfyingy and no- 
thing ooold be wofK timed. He endeavoured to 
langb at ibeir bnmonr; and by way of apolagy £b: 
hk BBgleet, be told them that be was «d dinp- 
piiiiitwd at n0t finffiqg lie -fln^ bound lor bk own 
ooaBtry,^iat be had fufguUeu to aak for aome pre- 
aentB: and bendea, ^lat be knewahe bnd vmy faw 
oT ihoae -flnnga on board, as abe came from a 
c a a aM ' v where fhiey were scaroe. Pinow endea- 
T«nJtD ea«rfaim far h» dkqipointmeDt, .». 
anring him m the kindest manner that be flhonid 
go by the nest 9tap bonnd to bk own country. 
Another miwilli now eifa^Mied without any impor- 
tant fateoBHfeanoe acxannng, when there auiPBd 
from the Fiji Idands 'fcv eanaeB, himgmg a Tonga 
BHdaboole, named Cow Mooak and hk retinue, wha 
had been absent from Tonga many years : Bat a 
naiialive of ihk person e adventures infrreign kl* 
will beat frnrm a dnpter of itself. 

xt 



2d6 TEANSACTIOMB AT 



CHAPTER X. 

Cow Moo ALA went out to tlie Fiji Islands with 
a number of young men^ for the sake of an ex* 
cnraion, and to mingle in the wars of those peo- 
file ; sometimes at one island, sometimes at an- 
other, from the same motives probahly as actuated 
Tool Hala Fatal : (see p. 78). After having been 
absent about two years, he set sail on his return 
home, and having airived within sight of Vavaoo^ 
the wind became unfavourable to land, and the sea 
running very high, he was obliged to change his 
course, and make for Hamoa, (the Navigator s 
Islands) ; but the wind soon increasing to a heavy 
gale, drifted him to the Island of Fotoooa , situated 
to the north-west of Hamoa. As soon as the na- 
tives of this place observed his approach, a num- 
ber of small canoes (for they were not in posses- 
sion of sailing canoes) came from the shore to meet 
him ; and, consistently with the laws and customs 
of the island, took possession of his canoe, and 
all his property. It forms an important part of 
the religion of this island to consider every thing 
, that arrives there, wY\e\\\ei ol ^%«l\. w\iX\\fc^^Mfl^ 
a» the property of tbeii ^o^ \ t^o xMB^wst ^V^'douL 
it he a large canoe, ot a \o% o^ ^wA* W^^sss? 



TRB TONGA ISLA'lTDS. t57 

f>f!iered to the gods by the priest, With an appro- 
priate address, * and is afterwards shared ont a* 
•nong the chiefs. This spoliation is believed to be 
necessary for the welfare of the country ; lest the 
gods should send a sickness among them, and cat 
them off, for infringing upon the great doctrine of 
their religion. This seems a very arbitrary law, 
and likely to have been invented for the purpose 
of plundering strangers, under the mask of reli- 
gion. But although they strip all strangers, without 
distinction, that come within their power, in re- 
turn they fit them out with other canoes, (entire- 
ly at the expense of the chiefs who shared the 
plunder ; and supply them with so much of the 
produce of the island as may be necessary to sup- 
port them in their way home ; together with presents 
of theiiffnatoo, mats, tortoise-shell, &c.; and withal 
behave very kindly : but not one single article that 
has been taken from them, however small the 
value, is again retumied, even with the most eameaC 
entreaty. Cow Mooala's canoe was laden with 
sandal-wood, f esteemed a very rich commodity at 
Tonga, but not one splinter of it was ever re- 
turned to him ; although the nativeflr of Fotoona 
could make na use of it, not having adopted 

* This is the method of msking offerings to the gods 
in Tonga ; and, as Cow Mooala made no mention of anj 
thing particular in thb ceremony among the people of Fo- 
toona, it is presumed to be conducted in the same way. 

f Sandal-wood is of the growth of one of the Fiji IsU 
anas, called Pau, and of only one spot upon this island, 
called Vooia. It ha% indeed, been planted upon other of 
the Fiji Islands, but without coming to any state o€ v^~ 
fection. It has also been transpVatvle^ \o >\vfe'Y.w\^"^^- 
wjds, but with as little success ; fot lY\e v»ocA^\»^'«^3^\^ 

civ/ possesses Jiuleor.no scent, and coMeKjawB^l^* "'*■■'' 

*r tbeir purpose. 



^Oi^ 



25S TRANSACTIONS AT 

the practice of oiikig themselyes. His canoe w«m 
dxBgged on shore, broken to pieces, and oflfered 
1^ to the gods ; afterwards the planks were shared 
oat among the chiefs, who devoted them ta the 
purpose of bvilding smaller canoes, one large e»- 
noe making fonr small ones. They seem to have 
no inclination to visit distant iel&nds, and never 
therefore bnild large canoes for themselves. They 
consequently have no personal knowledge of any 
eountry but their own, except a few individuals 
anoBg them, who havO gona afway witb straogen 
from motives of curiosity. 

Cow Mooela described dieir method of fig^ 
ing tfor it aj^pears they cannot do without civil 
wan) vHrich is conducted in two di£R9rei[kt modes, 
that is to say, wkfa apean and with sharks 
teeth. When a man pierces his enemy with a 
pike, he endeavours to lift him up from the ground 
on one end of it, or,- if opportumty will allow^ 
he calls some of his comrades to his assistance^ 
jvhOf thrusting their pikes also into him, they 
liift him high in the air, and carry him in triumphs 
The mode of fighting with ^arks* teeth is as 
follows : — The teeth being, fixed in three rowa 
on the palm and fingers of a species of glovoi^ 
made of the plaited bark of the heabo, and both 
hands being armed in this manner, every man en- 
deavours ta come to a close scuffle with his anta- 
gonist, and to tear open his bowels with these hor- 
rid weapons. The supreme chief, in Cow Mooala's 
time, was a man of remarkable bodily strength, 
and was always accustomed to %ht with this sort 
of gauntlet m preference U> the ^ike, not, however, 
^ tear open the bowels oi \a& esvKoi^^ ^Wx. Tfisst^L^) 
^ cmtek a firmer hold of Um'irYs^^V^^^uswiiX^ 



TRB TONGA ISLANDS. 959 

mt his face. He woald then place his foot upon 
tlie smaU of his back, and^ sei^ng fiist hold of the 
hair of his head, so bend his spine as to break it. 
With little men or bo3^ howeyer, he would not 
take so mnch trouble, but laying them across his 
icnee, as one would a stick, break their backs with- 
out farther ceremony ! By way of defence from 
the pikes of their adversaries, they wear on the 
left side a species of armour made of the husk of 
the cocoa-nut plaited thick, and stuffed and quilted 
on the inside with the loose husk, picked fine* 
Tbis reaches from the axilla down to the hip. 
Their wars generally originate in quairels about 
hereditary right, or the exaction of tribute. 

Some time before Cow Mooala arrived, an Eu- 
ropean vessel, according to their description (or an 
American), came to an anchor there. The natives, 
as usual, put off in their canoes, with a view to 
take possession of her according to the authority 
with which they were invested by the gods. The 
crew readily allowed them to come on board, sup* 
posing them to be governed by the usual spirit of 
curiosity ; but showed very strong symptoms of 
opposition when they began, without ceremony, to 
plunder, and opened such peals of thunder on 
them that they were obliged to jump overboard, 
and swim to dieir canoes with all expedition, sus- 
taining the loss of forty men. If this account be 
true, it would argue that they had not seen a ship 
before, or they certainly would have known her 
power, and not have made such an attempt. There 
is no ascertaining when this happened, for the 
natives keep no account of time. 

Mr Manner does not know \vovi Vso% C^'^ 
Mooala remained at FoUxmai VwA \X> naaaX >d»s^ 



260 TllAMSACTIONS AT 

been at least a twelyemonth, to have afibtdetl 
Lim time to build another large canoe fit for his 
voyage; which having at length accomplished, 
be again set sail with his presents, and a suf- 
ficient quantity of provisions for his voyage, and 
directed his course for the Fyi Islands, for- the 
purpose of laying in another cargo of sandal Wood* 
He had now oa board thirty-five of his own peo- 
ple, including fourteen or fifteen Tonga women, 
besides whom he had four male natives of Fotoon% 
who begged to go with him that they might visit 
distant countries. In hiis way he touched at the 
island of Lotooma (about a day's sail from Fo- 
toona), a place noted for the peaceable disposition 
of the inhabitants, and where he was received with 
an uncommon degree of respect. As they were 
littie accustomed to the appearance of stfangers, 
they were greatly surprised at the sight of so large 
a canoe, and considered this chief and his men as 
hotooas (gods) or superior beings, and would not 
suffer them to land, till they had spread on the 
ground a large roll of gneUoo^ which extended^ a- 
bout fifty yards, reaching from the shore to the 
house prepared for them. At this island Cow 
Mooala remained but a short time. During his 
stay, however, the natives treated him with very 
great respect, and took him to see some bonea 
which were supposed to have belonged enee to an 
immense giant; about whom they relate a mar- 
vellous account, which is current at Tonga, as 
well as at Lotooma. 

^' At a period before men of common stature 
L'red at Tonga, two eiionnous giants resided there, 
who, /lappening on some occa&yoti \a ci^vcA ^^c^ 
S^p be punished them \^ €«Qa\A% ^ ^cas^i's «^ 



•V 



Trt« TONOA ISLANDS. 261 

tXL the Tonga Islands, which obliged them to go 
and seek food elsewhere. As they were vastly 
above the ordinary size of the sons of men now- 
a-days, they were able, with the greatest imagin- 
able ease, to stride from one island to another, . 
provided the distance was not more than about a 
couple of miles. At all events, their stature en- 
abled them to wade through the sea without dan- 
ger, the water in general not coming higher than 
their knees, and in the deepest places not higher 
than their hips. Thus situated, no alternative was 
left them but to splash through the water in search 
of a more plentiful soil. At length they came in 
sight of ihe island of Lotooma^ and, viewing it at a 
distance with hungry eyes, one of them bethought 
himself, that, if this small island lyas ever so 
fruitful, it could not supply more food than would 
be sufficient for himself at one meal ; he resolved 
Uierefore wisely, out of pure consideration for his 
own stomach, to make an end of his companion. 
This he accordingly did, but by what means, whe- 
ther by drowning him, strangling him, or giving him 
a blow on the head, tradition does not say. When 
he arrived at Lotooma he was no doubt very 
hungry, but at the same time he felt himself so 
sleepy that he was resolved to lie down and take 
a nap, particularly as nig^t was fast approaching, 
and to satisfy his hunger the next morning ; and 
very lucky it was for the poor natives that he 
did so, (for it appears this island was inhabited at 
that time). He accordingly made a pillow of the 
island of Lotooma, and not choosing to lie in the 
water, he stretched his legs ^JEot ao \^<fc %\wrj ^^«!^ 
over to the island of Fotoona, in^^vci^ ^ ^"^^ ^^ 
kidge from one place to the otSwtT. ^^ "wv^^^ 



>i 



^3 TRANSACTIOKS AT 

he snored lo such a degree that both isknds, par* 
ticnlarly Lotooma, were shaken aa if by an esoth- 
qnake, so as greatly to disturb the peaceable in-, 
habitants. The people of the latter island being 
roused from their slumbers were greatly alarmed^ 
and well they might be, at this unseasonable and 
extraordinary noise. Haying repaired to the place 
where his head lay, and discovering that it was an 
immense gigantic being fast asleep, they held a 
consultation what was best to be done ; and came 
at length to a resolution of killing him, if possible, 
before he awoke, lest he might eat them all up. 
Every man accordingly armed himself with an. 
axe ; and, at a signd given, they all struck his 
head at the same moment. Up started the giant 
with a tremendous roar, and, recovering his feet, 
he stood aloft on the island of Lotooma ; but being 
stunned with the blows, he staggered and fell 
again, with head and body in the sea, and being 
imable to recover himself, he was drowned, his 
feet remaLaing upon dry land ; and thus the great 
enemy was destroyed. " 

As a proof of these facts, they show two enormous 
bones, which, as they say, belonged to this giant ; 
and the natives in general believe it. The people 
of Tonga, however, are not quite so credulous 
with respect to this story, which they generally 
tell in a jocose way. Mr Mariner asked Cow 
Mooala what sort of bones they were ; he replied 
that they were enormously large, he could not well 
describe their shape, — that he was sure they were 
bones, though they were not at all like any human 
bones, and he supposed tke^ mu&t have belonged 

^ aqme fish. To any new eomeK ^wa.\»Q!v««a3». 

the &nt questioxii is, " H»?e ^wk w«si ^^^smA^ 



THB TOKGA ISLANDS. 263 

jbonee ? *' But it would appear that communica- 
tions with Lotooma were not very frequent, since 
the inhabitants made so sad a mistake as to think 
Cow Mooala and his followers gods. 

Cow Mooala shortly took his departure from 
Lotooma, with three of the native women on 
board, in addition to his other followers, and sail- 
ed for the Fiji Islands. CJwing to the wind he de- 
viated a little from his course, but at length arriv- 
ed safe at Navihi Levoo, (as the natives call it, 
mesEining Large Fiji — the word Navihi is corrupted 
by the Tonga people to Fiji), one of the Fiji Isl- 
ands, to the north-west. Here Cow Mooala took 
up his residence with the chief of the island, where 
he remained a conKiderable length of time, assist- 
ing in tJie war with other islands. The inhabi- 
tants of Navihi Levoo are much more ferocious 
than those of most of the other Fiji Islands. This, 
however, is not stated merely upon the authority 
>f Cow Mooala, who occasionally was apt to ex- 
ggerate a little, as will by and by be seen, but 
pon that of Mr Mariner, who frequently saw and 
mversed with some of its natives, as well as with 
ose of the other islands, who were at Tonga in 
1 time ; besides which he has since been at Fau, 
e of the Fiji Islands, and consequently is able to 
m some judgment. The inhabitants of Navihi 
700 are not only more ferocious, but they are 
zh better skilled in war than those of the other 
ids, and are therefore much dreaded by them. 
y bore a hole through the soft part of the sep- 
of the nose, through which, in time of war, they 
a couple of feathers, nine ot Vw^V^^ *Yas^«^ 
which spread over each e\de ol \!tve K^^^^X^^ 
/. /. TC ^ 



164 TRAHBACnOirS AY ' 

immflOHi miutadieiy giving Ami a 'n^ fonoljii^ ' 
ble ifipearance. llie worrt; feitiire of ibm hu^ 
iNffiiiii is tibe bonible pnctioe of otiiiig liaimii 
flesh> which they cairy to a grater extent Aanan^ 
of the other F$ people. Toe diief of die idand 
was nqMirted to mve a remaikiible appetite in lim 
way. We must not take him howerer as a earn* 

E'* I. He was not in the habit of s am fic in g 
prisoners imiiiediately> (finding diem pethlpi 
too tongh fOT his deBciite stomach), hot of ic^ 
toaUy mxlering diem to be qMrated on, and pot in 
Btuii a state as to get bodi ftt and tendn*, after^ 
WBTcIs to be kSbd as he miriit want ihem. ^Ite 
hands and feetyparticnfafflyue latter, are eottridsr- 
'eddieciiokest|artt. 

It may hete be remafhedi tbat ff*^iiftpiilltin li 
more or less practised on all die Fiji luands, and 
has its origin, no donbt, in die constant wars in 
which the people are engaged. Not that war among 
savage nations universally gives occasion to so hor- 
rid a custom, (for indeed we have many instancies 
to the contrary) ; but in those uncultivated nadons, 
where a spirit of nadonal hatred and dnrst of re- 
tenge, on some extraordinary occasions, run very 
high, it q>pear8 to be an instinct of uncuMvated 
nature, to crown die catastrophe by a feast at 
< which civilized humanity revolts, * pardcnhriy 

* Mr Mariner htd from good authority a cireuinitaDoe 
that may be mentioned here as illustrative of the point in 
question. A certain man at Tonga had a violent hatred to 
another, whom he sought an opportunity of killing in bat- 
tle. At length he succeeded ; and, cutting open the body, 
diaaected qff the liver, and look it home to his house. He 
/ied the Uver up in a puece oS gaotWK vBA^^v^wssmr be 
^f^ated to drink water or cocoa.-ira\ «SfiL^ \« %«d^j^ \x 
fo, mad Omb aquaering oufc soma ««^ ^^ Vfi^*^"**^*^'^^ 



THX TONGA ISLANDS. 265 

lere & scarcity of provisions exists at the same 
ae. At the Fiji Islands war and devastation are 
dch more frequent than at Tonga, conseqnently 
ircity is more freqaent, and cannibalism more 
BCtised. The island of Navihi Levoo is more 
>ubled by intestine war than the other Fiji Isl- 
dsy and the people are greater cannibals. At the 
mga Islands in particular, it may be remarked, 
%t the island of Tonga (properly so called) is 
nstantly in a state of war, and scarcity conse- 
ently is much more common there than at Va- 
00 and the Hapai Islands, and cannibalism, there- 
re^ much less shuddered at. At the island of 
mga, indeed, this inhuman habit is by no means 
general as at the Fiji Islands ; but then it has not 
en the scene of warfare for more than about 
enty years, whereas the latter nation has been 
niliar, more or less, with this scourge of the hu< 
in race, from time immemoriied. 
While we are upon this subject, we may men<i 
m, that Mr Mariner was informed by the natives 
Tonga, that some time before his arrival among 
em, an European ship touched there, the boat of 
liich, on landing near Mafanga, had a quarrel 
Lth some of the natives, in consequence of which, 
ree of her crew were killed and draped up the 
)untry. These the natives embowelled and dres- 
d the same as pork, and several ate heartily of 
em ; but shortly afterwards they were all taken 
try ill, being attacked with nausea and vomiting 

rage, drink it off to satisfy his revenge. This fact was uni- 
rsally known and spoken of, but with much disgust, 
he cause of his enmity was the ill usa^e vjVacVv \v\^^>S.<^ 
id received on being taken prisoiieT Vi'j V3s\^ o'^«t. "^^^ 
ariner knew the man. 



266 TRANSACTIONS AT 

id a violent degree, and three of them actiially' 
died. ' Some of the natives attributed this circum- 
stance to an unwholesome quality in white man's 
flesh, others to the superior power of the gods of 
England. Hiey were strongly confirmed in this 
latter opinion, by the circumstance that almost 
every man who had been actively concerned in the 
conspiracy against the Port au Prince happened 
either to be killed in battle, or to die of disease. 
While Mr Mariner remained at these islands, they 
would often question him whether it were not ow- 
ing to the interference of the English gods as a 
punishment ; to which he always answered theiki in 
the affirmative, with a view to his own safety, and 
to inspire 'them with respect for the invisible 
powers, which, according to their notions, presid- 
ed over the welfare of England and of Englishmeii. 
Some of the natives, in joke, used to say, that they 
would kill Mr Mariner, to see if the hotooas (gods) 
of England would revenge his death, aUeging their 
disbelief in the unsolicited agency of the English 
hotooas, and their opinion rather that Mr Mariner 
himself had been the cause of their death by Ins 
prayers, soliciting his gods to revenge the death of 
his countrymen. This, however, was a notion 
chiefly of the lower orders. The higher classes 
were of opinion, that the hotooas of England ope- 
rated of their own accord, without any intervention 
or prayer. Finow was strongly of this opinion, 
observing that it was but fair to suppose that, in 
the same proportion as the v/hite men were supe- 
rior to them in knowledge, so were the hotooas of 
white men superior to their hotooas in divine 
power. But to retunv troxsx \)k\& ^\^^i\«\\.. 

Cow Mooala, after rem^Mswi^ ^ ^wffiAsKiMte. 



THK TONGA ISLANDS. S67 

ftimeftt Navihi Leiroo, sailed with his people for 
Tacownove, which is a district on the western nde 
of Pan, the largest of the Fiji Islands. Pan is 
much resorted to by American yessels, and vessels 
from Port Jackson, for sandal-wood, which grows 
to perfection only at a certieiin part of the island, 
called Vooia. The principal market for this arti- 
cle is China ; and the demand for it is so great, in 
proportion to the smallness of the place which pro- 
daces it, that it is now growing scarce, and, conse- 
quently, dearer. Formerly they would ^ve a con- 
siderable quantity for a few nails, but now they 
demand axes and chisels, and those too of the 
best quality, for they have gradually become jud- 
ges of such things : whales' teeth are also given in 
exchange for it. The chiefs of the Fiji Islands 
very seldom oil themselves, and, consequently, re- 
quire very Ihtle of this wood, the principal use of 
it being to scent the oil. The natives of the Tonga 
islands, however, who use a considerable quantity 
of it, complain heavily of its scarcity ; and what 
renders the matter still worse, is, that the Fiji peo- 
ple, demanding a greater number of axes and chisels 
for a given quantity of the wood, these implements 
are growing very scarce at the Tonga Islands, and 
plentiful at FyL Before the Tonga people acquir- 
ed iron implements, they usually gave whales' 
teeth, gnatoo, mats for sails, and platt ; but whales* 
teeth are exceedingly scarce, and the other articles 
are too bulky for ready exportation. The sting of 
the fish called stingray was also occasionally given, 
but these stings^ which they use for the points of 
spears, are by no means plentiful. This €L%\v >aK 
found in the greatest quantity 9l\> ^il Si^asA ^sS\%^ 

Y 2 



268 TRANSACT I0!4S AT 

Ooea, which lies ahout mid-way hetween Vr.faod 
and Hamoa. It has already been remarked that 
the sandal-wood tree will not tran^lant to Tonga; 
Daring the time Cow Mooala was at P&n, a 
vessel was wrecked off that island, and all the crew 
except two perished. The wreck was taken pos* 
session of by the natives ; who got out of her a 
hmnber of dollars, and a quantity of muslinis, with 
some other East India commodities. From these 
circumstances it would appear that she was an 
American smuggler on her return from Peru, with 
, ' part of her original cargo undisposed of. One of 
the men was afterwards killed in a quarrel with 
the other. Mr Mariner could not learn the name 
of the vessel. 

The people of Pan gave Cow Mooala an account 
of an €7wrmous lizard^ which they supposed must 
have been sent by the gods from Bolotoo. Late 
one evening, a canoe put in at a neighbouring small 
island, and the weather being very hot, and the 
crew much fatigued, they resolved to sleep during 
the night upon the open beach. After having been 
asleep some time, they were awakened on a sud- 
den by the loud cries of one of their companions; 
when, starting up, they observed by the light of 
the moon, with the utmost astonishment, a prodi- 
gious lizard plunge into the water. At this tliey 
were greatly alarmed, and, missing a man, they 
went farther up the country for safety. Early in 
the morning, one of them went into the sea to 
bathe, and was also snatched away by the monster. 
The whole island was soon in a state of alarm. 
Every body flocked to tVift beach, but no lizard was 
*» be seen ; and, in time coxw^e ^l ^^ ^'»N^ ^«^ 
»^Ao belonged to the cano^ tooV ^«a ^«^IM^NB», 



thk tokoa isLAiTbs. 8M 

A few days now elapsed, during which the prodi- 
gy waa no where to be found, and they supposed 
it was gone altogether, convinced of its having been 
the visitation of a god for some crime they had 
committed. One evening, however, while a wo-^ 
man was washing some tah root in a salt water 
lake, about a quarter of a mile from the beach, 
surrounded by thick rushes, the monster suddenly 
made his appearance, and, seizing the unfortunate 
woman, plunged with her into the lake. The peo- 
ple of the neighbouring houses having given the 
alarm, all the inhabitants of the island were soon 
up in arras, and, running to the spot, uttered loud 
exclamations, and threw stones and various missiles 
into the lake. The animal, being disturbed, now 
rushed out, and made towards the sea, pursued 
by a number of men, who threw spears at him ; 
but these were of no avail, his hard scales proving 
impenetrable to such weapons. This circumstance 
filled them with increased alarm and wonder, and 
confirmed them in the opinion that it must be a 
god, for they saw him escape unhurt into the sea. 
In this way he destroyed nine people at different 
places, when an old man, observing that be came 
on shore every morning at one particular place 
near the lake, in which he afterwards concealed 
himself, boldly devised a method to destroy him. 
He prepared a long rope, with a running noose at 
one end of it, which, passing over the thick branch 
of 2kfeh% tree that stood between the beach and the 
liJce, while that end containing the noose hung 
down near the ground, at the farther end he pla- 
ced fourteen or fifteen strong men concealed ascLQi^% 
high grass. The old man "WfiA «t «\a305v^"«^cKiNS8t> 
and well Btted for such a peY\\o\» «oX«cV"r«ft%^e^^ 



27Q TRANSACtlONS AT 

having obtained ^e solemn pronuse of his confe- 
derates to act their pprts widi steadiness and fide- 
lity, he undertook to walk about on the^ beach at 
the time the monster was expected, and, at his ap- 
proach, to recede behind the noose, through which 
the animal must necessarily pass his head to lay 
hold of him. Matters being thus adjusted, the ex- 
pected enemy made his appearance, and nm to- 
wards the old man, who took his station behind 
the noose, and, the moment the animal put his jaws 
through it, he sprang back, and gave an appointed 
■ignaL Instantly the cord was drawn tight, and 
their prey was caught with his head and one paw 
through the noose ; — they soon secured the rc^e, 
ODct running up, beat him about the head, and 
pitfced him wherever they could, tiU, at length, 
after much hard woik, ihey killed him* When 
their toil was over, the first thing they thought of, 
was to try if he was good to eat. Accordingly, 
selecting those parts which they thought the ten- 
derest, they baked a sufficient quantity, and, find- 
ing it very good, made a hearty meal. Cow Moo- 
ala saw the bones, from the description of which, 
as well as from what he had heard concerning the 
living animal, Mr Mariner supposes that it must 
have been a a*ocodile which, by some accident, 
had made its way from the East Indies. And, as 
it was the first of the kind the natives had ever 
seen or heard of, we need not wcmder that they 
supposed it to be a supernatural lizard, sent by the 
g!6ds from Bolotoo as a punishment for their of- 
fences. 

Pan is decidedly the largest of the Fiji Islands, 
^Uid much larger than Nwwio \ \jwX C-q»>« M^oosi^ 
gure an exaggerated acoiWDBX o^/A» ««fc* '\^^ ^ 



scribed it to be so lai^, that many of the people 
in its interior bad never seen the sea, owing to 
their distance from it ; and that the people living 
on the mountains, and who constantly resided therd 
to avoid the frequent wars and disturbances on the 
plains below, very seldom came down ; and when 
they did, and saw fish for the first time, they would 
hot believe but what they were hotooas (gods), 
and wondered very much to see people eat them. 
The mountains on the western side, called Ta^- 
cownove, are the highest. On the base of one of 
these mountains are two hot springs, situated near 
together, at which a neighbouring garrison gench 
rally boil their yams and plantains, by putting 
them into a vessel with holes in the side, and 
suffering the boiling water to pass through it. • 
The natives of the Fiji Islands are much more 
curly headed than those of Tonga ; and all of tfaeni, 
both men and women, powder their hair with the 
ashes of the bread-fruit leaf, or with powdered 
lime, prepared from the coral, or else with soot 
coDected from the smoke of the tooi-tooi, * The 
pulverized lime is only worn now and then with 
a view to stiffen their hair, which it does remark- 
ably well. In using either of these substances, they 
plentifully diffuse it through water, in which they 
dip their heads ; and when the hair is dry they 
dip again, repeating this operation three or four 
times. The hair becoming now replete with the 
powder, when quite dry they work it up with 
great care and attention, occupying three or fotcr 
hours in frizzing it out with a sort of comb, to a 

• Jeremiah Higgins, who was at Oatsa vX"M!A"& '^vtNfe^ 
weeks, saw the steam arising from vYicse %v^\^^>^s«XV^^'^ 
not an opportunity of approaching tiic «^c(l% 



273 TRANSACTIONS AT 

joonsiderable distance from the heady resembUng an 
immense wig, from four to nine inches thick, be- 
mg raised equally from the head, at the top, back, 
and sides. Like the Tonga people, they general- 
ly go bareheaded ; but to preserve this fine head- 
dress from being injured by the dews of the night, 
they usually cover it with about a square yard of 
widte fftuUoOf beaten out very fine, so as to appeal 
light and elegant, which is quite sufficient to keep 
off the moisture* They tie it on with remarkable 
neatness. 

At the Fiji Islands the girls and boys go quite 
naked, the f(»mer till they are about ten, the latter 
till fourteen ; after which the girls wear the usual 
dress of the women, a sort of circular apron, about 
a foot or fourteen inches broad, worn quite round 
the waist. When they grow older, it is increased 
to about a foot and a half in breadth. At the age 
of fourteen the boy begins to wear the mahi, or 
usual dress of the men, which has been accurately 
described by Captain Cook, as seen by him at the 
Sandwich Islands. At the Fiji Islands it is of 
greater length, being wrapped round the body 
many times ; one end passing between the legs, so 
as to represent, when adjusted, what in surgery is 
called a T bandage. Children are married by their 
parents (or rather betrothed to each other) when 
they are three or four years old. This circum- 
stance gives rise to the complaint usually made by 
the natives of Tonga who visit Figi, that they can 
find no woman but who is under the protection of 
a jealous husband. This Cow Mooala sadly com- 
plained of; and it leads us to the inference, that 
^Ae women there are very ^2[\\)cvlvi\. K tk«xv \a»?{ 
^ve sereral wives ; but ^^ ^«XftsX ^vbl, ^Qoax'-fti 



TBI TONGA IIIAND8. fitS 

she wlu) IB of the best funily, is the principal wife; 
and in respect to her, — if her husband die firat, 
she must be strangled on the day of his death, and 
afterwards bmied with him. Mr Mariner knows 
this &ct from what happened at Vavaoo, a short 
time after the peace with Toe Oomoo ; and as it 
was not mentioned at that time, the presoit seema 
a fit opportnnity. Among Finow's followers, a 
certain chief, a natire of Rji, fell iQ and died ; his 
wife, also a native of Fiji, in accordance with the 
religions notions in which she had been brought 
up, conmdered it a breach of duty to oatHye him ; 
she therefore desired to be strangled. AH her 
Tonga friends endeayonred to dissuade her from 
what appeared to them so unnecessary and useless 
an act ; but she was determined, she said, to MSL 
her duty, failing which she ahoold never be happy 
in her mind, — the hotooas of Fiji would panuh 
her ; and thus, by living, she should only incur 
fresh miseries. Her friends, finding all remon- 
strances in vain, allowed her to do as i^e pleased. 
She accordingly laid herself down in the ground, 
by the side of her deceased husband, with her 
face upwards ; and desiring a couple of F$ men 
to peifryrm their duty, they put a band of gnaJtoo 
round her neck, and, pulling at each end, soosi ac- 
complished her wiflbes.* In the evening they 
were buried together in the same grave, in a sit- 
ting posture, accorcBng to the Fiji custom. Mr 
Mariner happened not to be present when she 
was strangled, but arrived in time to see them 
buried, and to hear the account of the recent 

• It used to be the custom at Ton^ -^Vca "Qofc ^ownto 
chief, Tooitonga, died, to rtrang\e \iVft <3fcat^ ^^e \ >^]^V^ 
mbsurdpnctiee was left off dutia^ "Mjt "WLMMUBt* % \jaf» 



SI74 .THANSACTIONS AT . 

event from those who had been eye-witnesses^ 
Both sexes adopt the custom of making an incision 
in the lobe of each ear, and introducing a piece, ' 
about an inch long, of the mid rib of the plantain 
leaf, to keep it distended. When healed, they in* 
sert a thicker piece, and afterwards a still larger 
portion of the wood itself, so as to cause the lobe 
of the ear spread and hang down considerably. 
This practice, as it is considered ornamental, the 
women carry to a much greater extent than the 
men ; and at length introduce such large pieces, 
that the ear hangs down almost to the shoulderjr 
the opening being about ten inches in circumfer- 
ence. Frequently, by overstretching the lobe, it 
splits ; and there are many women seen with it 
hanging down in two slips ! Their skins are by 
no means so smoth and sleek as those of the 
Tonga people, owing to the circumstance of their 
not oiling themselves. 

At the Fiji Islands the gods are consulted in 
much the same way as at Tonga. There are, in- 
deed, some few trifling differences in the ceremony, 
but these Mr Mariner is not sufficiently acquaint- 
ed with to state accurately ; for although he was 
afterwards at Pau, he had not an opportunity of 
seeing the ceremony. 

Close to Pau lies a very small island, called Chi- 
chia, which is in itself a fortress almost impreg- 
nable. The nearest part is not more than a hun- 
dred yards from Pau^ and, at low water, joins it 
by a ridge of sand. At this place there is a high 
rock, almost perforated by nature, and which art 
bas rendcTed completely so. TKe rock is convert- 
ed into a strong fortress, cotv\misxiX\^^ '^^ VmSsa 
V^W*. «.hich, indeed, « x«.AeT*«.-«^««i«^- 



THB TONGA iaLAin>8. B7( 

every part, by a heavy snrf and dangerous rocks, 
except just to the left of the large rock, and that 
part is defended hy a high fencing. On this island 
several natives of Tonga resided, for the diief was 
partial to them, his wife being a native of that 
place ; and he readily admitted Cow Mooala and 
his men to come also and reside among them. 
Cow Mooala took an active part with the chief of 
Chichia in bis war agamst the people of Pan. This 
. war had been kept up for a long time, the peoplie 
of Chichia constantly committing depredations on 
the people of Pan, without these being at all able 
to retaliate ; and from time to time they had taken 
a great number of prisoners. A few days before 
the period that Cow Mooala had fixed on for his 
retmn to Vavaoo, the chief of Chichia made a sortie 
from his stronghold, and gave a general battle to 
the people of Pau. The men of Chichia were 
victorious, and returned in triumph to their little 
island. The chief, elated by these victories, re- 
solved now to have an extraordinary feast before 
tiie departure of Cow Mooala. On the following 
day, therefore, a grand warlike dance was per- 
formed by the men, with bracelets of fringed bark 
nnder their knees, and of shells under their arms ; 
their bodies and faces painted with various confi- 
goradonsy in black and yellow, producing, no doubt, 
a strange appearance. Each man was armed with 
a club and spear ; and, thus equipped, the whole 
body of them exhibited various warlike attitudes, 
such as throwing the spear, striking with the club, 
&C.— shouting and singing alteniately. When they 
had finished their dancing, tbe^ «d»^ djcsTrc^XK^ ^^sra^^ 
eavM; after which the ciafti ^n^ q^^w^.'v^ '^^^ 
VOL, I, a 



276 ^ TBANSACT10S8 AT 

eooks to bring forward the fsast. Immedblely 
they advanced two and two, each ample bearing 
on their shoulders a basket, in wfaidb was the body 
of a man barbacued like a hog. The bodies wero 
placed before the chief, who, on a large green* was 
seated at the head of his company. When these 
▼ictims were placed on the ground, hogs wevB 
Iffougfat in like manner; afterwards, baskets of yams, 
on each of which was a baked fowL Tliese being 
all deposited, the number of tUskes was coonted, 
and announced aloud to the chief, when there ap- 
peared to be two hundred human bodies, two hun- 
dred hogs, two hundred baskets of yams, and s 
like number of fowls. The provisions were ^en 
diirided into furious portions, and each declared to 
be the portion of sncii a god ; after whseh, ihey 
were given to the care of as many prindpsl chiefs, 
who shared them out to all their dependants, so 
t!tml every man and woman in the island had a 
portion of each of these articles, whether they 
chose to eat them or not. It would be, perhaps, 
increasing the horror of this picture beyond the 
truth to state that every person present jrartook of 
human flesh. Tliese unfortunate victims were sa- 
crificed and cooked more (or a matter of form, 
probably, than any ^ling else. But it must be con- 
fessed that the chiefs, warriors, and more ferocioi|s 
part of the company, partook of the inhuman diet, 
and that several of them feasted on it. Such, at 
least, was the account of Cow Mooala ; and Mr 
Mariner has too much reason to think it true, be- 
cause he afterwards heard the same account from 
several of the natives of ChiveVna^^VM^ visited Tonga. 
A few days afterwards Cofvi '^Qll\)^a.^A^ %»i!^te 
Vuvaoo, where he amved sa£e 'WiJi^ ^iWix ifi^j ^- 



tendants, as formerly noted, considting of Tonga 
people, natives of Fiji, and others. As soon as 
his arriyal was made known to Finow, he issued 
orders to the owners of the different plantations of 
Vavaoo to bring to the mal6i at Neafoo whatever 
they could afford, as presents to Cow Mooala and 
his companions. * On this occasion there were 
wrestling, fighting with clubs, cava drinking, &c. 
as formerly described. It must be remarked, how- 
ever, that when these great exhibitions of wrest- 
ling and fighting are shown on account of the ar* 
rival of visitors or persons who have been long ab- 
sent, it IB customary for the new comers to be 
challenged by any one, or every one of the island 
who chooses, so that in the end they are pretty 
<;ertain of getting a thorough beating. No man, 
however, is obliged to accept the challenge, nor is 
it thou^t dishonourable to refuse it. In short, as 
they nierely beat one another in a friendly way, it 
is considered a sport for general entertainment, in 
which any man may take an active part, if he feels 
himself at all so disposed. In these encounters 
they frequently get their arms broken ; but this 
gives no one any concern — scarcely even the party 
who suffers, who immediately gets it set by one 
of the company (they are all tolerably expert at 
this from frequent practice), and bound up with 
bandages oi gnatoo^ uaing splints made from the 
cocoa-nut tree. 

* It is always customary to make presents in ^s way 
to any newly arrived party, particularly to persons much 
respected, as was Cow Mooala, or who have been long. 
sbseoU 



8 TRAK8ACTI01I8 AT ' 

.1 



CHAPTER XI- 

Soon after Cow Mooala's arrival from the Fiji Isl- 
ands, Finow received intelligence from Toobo Tot 
(chief of the Hapai Islands) that a canoe had ai^ 
rived at Lefooga, from the island of Tonga, with 
a chief, and two young matabooles. They cam* 
to petition Rnow for pardon, in behalf of a great 
chief, named Toob6 Malohi, elder brother of Toobo 
Tea, who had^e'eh long resident at the island of 
Tonga, and had defended the cause of FinowV 
enemies. As this chief brought very interesting 
information of all the recent events at the island 
of Tonga, we shall give an account of these trans* 
acticms in the order in which they happened, and 
conclude with the ceremony of pardon, granted to 
Toobo Malohi and his followers. 

Toobo Malohi had been chief of the fortress o 
Nioocalofa, on the island of Tonga, which, th 
reader will recollect, Finow besieged with the fou 
carronades, and afterwards burnt to the groun< 
In consequence of which Toobo Malohi left ; 
with such of his followers as could save themselvc 
and i9ed up the country, to seek refuge in soi 
other fortress* This c\v\e^ YvaA ^^^^ been unf 
donate. At the tiime oi iVv^ ^eauX. w^xjjCvw 
^oxiga, and the early Micceaaiea cS. Yvass^^ ^ 



THS- TOI^OA ISLAKDf. 279 

fled to the Fiji Islands with his followers, and had 
rettded th^^ some time, gaining experience m 
the art of war. On his return to Tonga, he built 
the fortress of Nioocalofa, from which he was 
driven as already related. He next took refuge 
in some other fortress ; from which, owing to iSie 
jealousy of the chief, or some other cause, he was 
obliged to depart, and seek shelter in a third; 
whence also he was exiled by some untoward cir- 
cumstance ; and became, in fact, a wanderer 
whom nobody would receive in a sincere and 
friendly way. At length, however, he thought he 
had found a permanent asylum in the fortress of 
Hihifo, with Teoo Cava^ the chief who had made 
Finow a present of the extrawdinary well trained 
bird. Teoo Cava received him and liis followers 
in a very cordial maimer, conaidwiay them a great 
BoqnidtioB to his atrength ; for they had the re« 
putation of behng all great warriors, well schooled 
in the military practices of Fiji. 

Teoo Cava, finding that no enemy thought pro- 
per to attttck Jhim, resolved to lay siege to tlie 
garrison of Nookoo Nookoo. He was successful 
in his attack, and took it with an inconsiderable 
jkMs of men ; which being done, he determined, 
4XNitrary to ^e advice of his matabooles, to garri- 
son bolii fortresses. Tike reason the niataboolef 
fpave for objecting to tfaii measure, was the readi-* 
AesB with which the enemy made their retreat* 
This they thought argued an intention of return- 
ing speedily^ with fi*e8h strength. Ambition blind-' 
ittg him, however, to his own proper interestft, h«r 
4ie^ected sage counsel ; and, d\v\d\xv^ V\>i^ Usc^R»n 
-reserved the choiceBt bdf, \iidx»i^^'t<i«Jwi^'^^^^ 

z 2 



280 TBAN8ACTION8 AT ' 

hi and his warriors, for his own personal safety id 
the garrison of Nookoo Nookoo, and commission- 
ed the rest to defend Hihifo. In the course of 
the following night, the enemy made a desperate 
attack upon them. Having resolved to bum the 
place to the ground, they had appointecl four hun- 
dred men to effect their purpose, each of whoni. 
was armed with a spear, and a lighted torch fixed at 
about a foot from the point of it. At a signal 
every man threw his flaming weapon at the fenc-^ 
ing, or into .the garrison, and, by the aid of this 
new invention, the place was set on fire in several 
points at the same time. With the view of ren- 
dering themselves more secure, the besieged had 
removed all the draw-bridges over the dry ditch 
round the fencing, except one. There was no 
ready means of escape, therefore, from the confla^ 
gration, which soon spread far and wide, except 
by one narrow path ; and hundreds consequently 
were compelled to leap into the ditch, the sides of 
which were too steep to climb. Among these 
was Teoo Cava, who, with several other great 
chiefs and warriors, managed to get out, by 
climbing up the backs of those whose fidelity, 
at the utmost peril of their own lives, prompt^ 
them to lend their superiors this friendly assis- 
tance. Teoo Cava, having got out of the ditch, was 
now making the best of his way, unarmed, to 
Hihifo, when he was met by a native of Fiji, 
belonging to the enemy's party, who gave hun 
the watch-word, which he was unable to an- 
isfver. Instantly tlie Fiji \i^rrior struck him so 
Solent a blow on tV\e \ie^ \9\\Vv Kis club, that he 
Varied it in his bruna. TV» iMaVai^ ^v %A\n^- 
•cl ioto tlia broken tkoliV, <iMX\A c^sq^l^til^xH 



* 



THI TONGA IftLANm. 881 

\iBalefl7 withdraw it ; and he probably would have 
left it there, but discoyering what a great chief he 
had killed, his club, we presume, from that mo- 
ment appeared exceedingly valuable— the pledge 
as it were of future greatness. The triumph of 
his feelings, therefore, prevented him from seeing 
or hearing another man, who was fast approaching ; 
and whilst he was in the act of disengaging his wea- 
'pon, hiB own brains were knocked out, and his spe- 
culations as suddenly destroyed, by one of Teoo 
Cava 8 men, whose swiftness of foot brought him 
just in time to revenge his fallen chief, by laying 
his enemy prostrate by his side. But dangers 
were thickening round this warrior, and he was 
<»>mpe]led to leave the body of Teoo Cava on the 
field, and secure his own existence by a speedy 
Aight to Jfiihifo ; where all who succeeded in mak- 
ing their escape qmckly arrived. The body of 
Teoo Cava was soon found by the enemy ; it was 
conveyed to their fortress, cut to pieces, and 
(must it again be said ?) dressed for food I 

Among the garrison of Hihifo was a chief nam- 
ed Ata, who had great reputation for political wis- 
dom and military skill. He was a native of the 
island, and at the time of the revolution, when his 
friends and acquaintance went over to the Hapai 
Islands for peace and safety, he resolved to remain 
for the sake of his oldest and most sincere friend, 
Teoo Cava, and to assist and stand by him to the 
last. As Teoo Cava was now no more, Ata, con- 
flcious of his skill in war, and the confidence which 
aQ the men placed in him, proposed to take upon 
Idmself the command of the garrison ; and lu& ^^ 
fen were gladly accepted* 'Rift oXJasa ^gKroa««» ^ 
the iakmd soon bearing of \i» ^«b^i3ei ^iT^a^^^^^B'^ 



/ 

Mt TRAMBACTIOK8 At 

and tlio ^Kl loeses he had sustnined, seven) of 
them entered into league agliinBt Hihifo, and (AiCitu 
ly commenced a siege, whidi lasted fourteen days ; 
, hat at length, quarrelling among themselves, and 
finding the hesieged hold out so manfully, -and 
withal heing struck with awful astonishment^ at the 
extreotdinary hrarery of Maccapapa,* who was 
said to he invincible hy the immediate protection 
of the gods, they raised the siege, and each par* 
ty repaired as quickly as possible to its own for* 
tress, lest it should be taken possession of by somo 
enemy. During the siege of Hibifo, ihe women 
made themselves remarkable by their resolute IB* 
sistance in the defence of the place ; lest, for waM 
of men, it should be taken by the enemy. Th» 
widows of Teoo Cava, f however, were so afflict* 

* It will be recollected that Maccapapa was formerly in 
the service of Toe Ootnoo ; but at tbe peace he left Va* 
▼BOO, apprehensive that Finow might pUy him some trea- 
chery. 

f Speaking of Teoo Cava calls to mind a circumstance, 
mentioned in the Second Missionary Voyage, respecting 
EKsa Mosey and a black woman, both belonging to the 
American ship Duke of Portland, Captain Lcmit Melom 
The date is not mentioned. Through tbe treachery cf 
Teoo Cava (who from mistake of pronunciation they call 
Ducava), the crew were all murdered, eiccepting three or 
Amr persons, among whom were Eliaa Mdsey and ths 
black woman* The latter was still at the Hapai Ifllandb 
when Mr Mariner left. She had become insane, but lived 
as a sort of domestic (being harmless^ with a certain fe- 
male chief, who treated her kindly. Eliza Mosey became 
lone of the wives of Teoo Cava, who was oiiich envied by 
die other dideh on that account, she being a white womaOk 
She made her escape afterwards, in the Union of New 
York, and arrived at Port Jackscm, where she remained. 
Mr Mariner has since accidentally heard iVom a womsA 
ti^o had he€<n «t Pbxt Jacksom^ ^tX^\\iA.'^«Ms^ iKMatt^A 
^lAmrards to Tooga, -wUh a i^ ihaJt Vwja*. i«i ^iJa* i?*? 



TBS TONGA IBLAIOM. t8S 

«d at his loss^ that many of them, it is said, stifMig- 
led themselves. * 

Toobo Malohi now sent word to his brother, 
Toobo Toa, that, being weary of his nnqniet and 
harassing life at Tonga, and being desii'ons to settle 
at Hapai, he wished his brother to petition the 
king in his behalf, and to obtain leave for himself 
and his chiefs and matabooles to reside at . Hapai, 
and be henceforth tributary to him ; which message 
was brought to Toobo Toa by a chief and two 
young matabooles, as before stated. Having com- 
municated this request of his brother and his fol- 
lowers to Hnow, after a little consideration the 
king gave consent that they should reside at the 
Hi^ai Islands, upon condition that Toobo Toa 
kept a strict eye upon their conduct, and was an- 
swerable for them, which was immediately agreed 
to. Toobo Toa thereupon got ready a large ca* 
noe, and proceeded to Hihifo to receive his bro* 
ther, who came on board with all his chiefs and 
choice warriors, the remainder of his attendants fol- 
lowing in another canoe. Having touched, in their 
way, at the Hapai Islands, they proceeded on to 
Vavaoo, to pay their respects to Finow, and to 
receive his pardon. 

So soon as the king heard of their arrival at 
Vavaoo, he repaired with all his chiefs and mata- 
booles to the house on the mai^i at Neafoo, hav- 
ing, besides their usual dress, small mats round 
the middle, significant of its being a solemn oc- 

pose of laying in a cargo of pork, and was shortly after- 
wards wrecked among the Fiji Islands. 

• Mr Mariner is not quite certain vUelUet ^S»& 't^e^RnX 
fje correct; for it is an undoubted {mX| ^'A wlaK«^»>* «*-- 
€eedingij raro among them. 



2S4 TKAMSACTIOMS AT 

earioxi) ind oat of respect for Toobo Malohi (*}- 
though he came as an humble suppliant), for he 
was a very great chief, superior even to Tooho Toa, 
bemg his elder brother. Toobo Malohi being io^ 
formed that the king Ti^as already seated on thd 
maiaif ready to reoeire him, he and hb followers^ 
dressed in large mats, expressire of their great 
respect, wi^ leares of the ifi tree round their 
necks as a mark of submission, went forth, accom- 
panied by a priest, to a house dedicated to Tali-y* 
Toob6, and sat down before it. The priest then 
addressed the divine spirit that was supposed^ to 
reside there, to the following purpose : ^^ Here 
thou seeet the men who have come from Tonga 
to implore thy pardon for their crimes. They hatt 
been rabeb against those chiefs who bold power 
from diYtne authority^ but, being sorry for what 
lli^ey have done, they hope that thou wilt be pleased 
for the future to extend thy protection towards 
tiiem. " The priest then rose up, and laid a piece 
of cava root imder the eaves of the house ; after 
which he proceeded towards Finow, the suppliants 
following him, one after another in the order of 
their rank, their heads bowed down, and their 
hands clasped before them. Entering the house 
on the side opposite the king, they seated them- 
selves before him and his matabooles, their hands still 
clasped together, and their heads bowed down al- 
most to the ground. After a little time, the priest^ 
who sat between them and the king, addressed the 
latter to the following purpose. " You here see 
Toobo Malochi, and his chiefs and followers, who 
Aave been to implore the pardon of Tali-y-Toob6, 
Bnd iwe now come to WmAVaXe ^^xoa.^'^'K^'Wwc^ 
yon. Sot that they exp^cx y^u "^^ \«xi5yssft. "^m^ 






THX TOKOA IILASOK 28^ 

lAer 10 obsdnate a rdiellioii, b«t they come tm 
eadeaTonr to eonvince you of their mumm for ao 
great and heinoiu a crime. They hare no ezpee- 
tation but to die, therefore yoor will be done. " * 
After a short panae, the priest added, *' Pass ywar 
sentence, Finow : " he then rose iqi and retmd 
among the people. In a Uttle time, Finow said 
to the snpplicantB, ** ToogooS ke h ^"^ Take 
eS the ifi leases (which is a sign of pardon) : of 
which command uey took no noCiee, as if nnwil- 
iing to b^wre so great a mercy was shown to 
^m. Finow again said, ^ Toogoad he h i^" 
upon which they all complied, but renMuned in the 
same poetnre. Before we go ftnther it most be 
obsenred, that there were vacant places left among 
Finow 8 chiefs and matalNMrfea for Toob6 Malohi 
and his principal Mlowcn, who were of a nftriet 
rank, to be cdled to them after they had reoemd 
their pardon; batforagreatdiief,eircBmBtBncedaa 
was Toobo Mal<^ to obey diia snmmooa (whick 
is alwaya prononnced by the matahoole sitting 
lezt to Finow) woold neither be so respectfnl nor 
o prudent as to remain where he was, and take 

notice of it, as if altogether nnworthy of being 

1 existed ; whilst a chief of less noble rank woold 

It hesitate to obey the command, and take the 

at appointed for hinu AU. thia ie done upon the 

indple, that a great dnef, so oflSmdmg, oug^ 

keep himself as hnmble as possible, lest, having 

at power and authority, he might be suspected 

ntentions to equalize himself with his supe- 

9, and ultimately to revolt. Whereas minoc 

ft, hBjmg but little pewer, vcib "aic^Xfli^^ ^^ 

"liis speech o£ the priesU » to \« cqtvA^ew^ ^ ^^.^^ 
offonn tiian the teal sentiKWiiU «* ^ifc« *°W^"^^ 



286 TRANSACTIONS AT 

exdte jeaSousies : besides which, these minor chiefi»f 
being governed by their superior, are thought to 
be less criminal than he who leads them astray by 
hie authority. This formed a subject of dispute^ 
beforehand, among the company. Some thought 
that Toobo MaloM would instantly obey the or- 
der to take his appointed seat, conscious of his 
exalted rank, and fearless of the jealousy of Hnow. 
The greater part, however, were of opinion, that 
he would remain where he was, knowing well the 
revengeful disposition of the Haw^ and his prompti- 
tude to sacrifice those whom he suspected. In a 
little time this matter was put out of dispute. The 
xnataboole on finow s right hand exclaimed aloud, 
■<< Toob6 Malohi ! here is a place for you. " The 
chief seemed not to bear the summons, keeping 
his head bowed down to the earth. The mata* 
boole again said, " Toob6 Malohi ! here is a place 
for you ; " but his ears were still shut, and be pre- 
served the same humble posture. The mataboole 
then said to the others successively (mentioning 
their names in the order of their rank), ^' Here is 
a place for you ; and they accordingly seated them- 
selves as their names were called over, in the places 
appointed for them (i. e. those who were of suffi- 
cient rank to sit in the circle, the others retiring 
among the people), leaving Toobo Malohi seated 
by himself in the middle of the ring. Cava was 
now prepared, and served out to t!ic company, 
each in his turn, according to his rank, not except- 
ing Toobo Malohi, who, in this case, was served 
the foortli. When the cava was presented to 
Idmy he neither took Vv liot t^^^xi;^ \ai& bead, but 
^peaking to somebodY 'wXio sax^\\N.'^^'W^sflBi^\sBB.^ 
"■t p«noa ttretdiea Yna «xti» lanwa^, «A \ft^ 



THE TOKOA IS&AI^DS. £87 

it away, reserving it for Toob6 Malohi, to drink 
after the cava party should be dissolved. The 
company, having finished their cava, dispersed, 
and Toobo Mdohi retired to take his. This 
chief and his followers remained at Vavaoo about 
a fortnight before they sailed to the Hapai Islands ; 
during which time he entertained Finow with an 
account of di£ferent transactions at Tonga, relating 
what conspiracies had been devised, what battles 
had been fought, what brave chiefs and warriors 
had fallen. Every time he mentioned the death 
of a hero, Finow struck his breast with his fist, 
exclaiming, ^< What a warrior has fallen in a use* 
less war ! ** or something to that purpose. 

Before Toob6 Malohi and his chiefs took their 
departure, Finow repeated his orders to Toob6 
Toa to keep a watehfvl eye upon them, and to 
^ve him the earliest information, if he discovered 
any symptoms of conspiracy ; for he said he ex* 
pected something of iJae kind, as they were all 
choice warriors, and had been well experienced at 
the Fiji Islands. 



VOL. I. 2 a 



tM 711AV1IACTIOI2I AT 



CHAPTER Xn. 

Shoitlt afi;er Toobo Maldhi and iiii EdUowos 
ImuI departed for die Hapai Islands, Finow's 
yonn^er davghter, named S&umxvo mai Lal^nffi 
(whicb, in the Hanoa laDgaage, means descended 
from the sky), about six or seren years of age, 
ftU sieks on which occasion she was removed 
from her fajthn^s hame to anodier inside a fendngv 
consecrated to Tali-y-Toobo, the patron god of the 
Hows, Almost every morning a hog was killed, 
dressed, and presented before the house, as an of*" 
fering to the god, that he might spare her life for 
the sake of Finow. On these occasions, one or 
other of the matabooles, and sometimes two or 
three in succession, made an address to the iavok- 
ed divinity (for he had no priest), to the following 
purpose : " Here thou seest assembled FinoW and 
his chiefs, and the principal matabooles of thy fa- 
voured land," (the Tonga Islands, taken collec- 
tively), ^^ thou seest them humbled before thee. 
We pray thee not to be merciless, but spare the 
life of the woman * for the sake of her father, 
who has alveays been attentive to every religious 

* On such occasions iVve^ call the person for whom they 
intercede, however young, wAiet «k mat^^ w >n^w\ats.^ «o- 
cording to the sex, a\tho\i^ V3aft^\«:^* w^^t^-^x^^'*''^ 
*o express boy^ girlt «&^ chiUL. 



THB TOVGA ISLAMDB. 889 

eeremoily ; f but if tfay anger is justly excited by 
some crime or misdemeuioiir committed by my 
other of us who are here assembled, we entreat tbet 
to inflict on the guilty one the pfunishment which he 
merits, and not to let go thy vengeance on one 
who was bom but as yesterday. For our own 
parts, why do we wish to live but for the sake of 
Finow ? but if his femily is afflicted, we are all afflict- 
ed, innocent as well as guilty. How canst thou 
be merciless ! dost thou not see here Fi$i6w f-^ 
and is not Afoo here, who descended from ancient 
Tonga chiefs now in Bol6too ?— and is not F6iim 
here, and did he not descend from MoomoBe^ forw 
merly How of Tonsa ? — and is not A'h here, and 
NiucSpoOf and T0006 9 — Then why art thou mer^ 
ciless ? " (spoken in rather an impatient and 
peremptory tone) ^^ have regard for Finow, and 
save the life of his daughter. " 

Every morning, as before stated, for about a 
fortnight, a hog was killed and ofiered to the god, 
and addresses were made similar to the above, and 
repeated five, six, or seven times a day, but the 
god seemed not to barken to their petition, and 
the child daily became worse. In about fourteen 
or sixteen days, finding their prayers unavailing, 
they took her to another fencing in the neighbour- 
hood, consecreted to TM fo6a JBoi6ioom Here 
the same ceremonies vrem practised for about a 
week, with as little good result. Finow, finding 
his daughter getting worse instead of better, orw 
dered his large canoes to be launched, and his 
wives, chiefs, matabooles, in short his whole house^ 

f Finow was noted for his want of TftW^giWi. •\!t»fc^s«n^. 
words, therefore, were used aa mere \«t«i^«cA\«R»»*^'*^' 
cue dared to say otherwise* 



S90 TRANSACTIONS AT 

hold, to go on boiard. His eick daughter wM 
conyejred into the canoe which he and his wi^es oc* • 
cupied, Mr Mariner also being on board. They 
set sail for the island of Hbong^ which belonged 
to a priest called Tochb Tia^ who was accustom- 
ed to be inspired by Finow's tutelar god* Toob6 
TciaL On. this- island several enclosures or fenc- 
ings are consecrated to this god. To one of 
which his daughter was carried, and the same of- 
fering and same kind of address was frequently 
made ; but in this case, not before the consecrat- 
ed house where the sick child lay, but whereva: 
the priest happened to be, which was generally at 
his own house or at Finow's. It must here be 
remarked, that those gods who have, priests are 
invoked in the person of the -inspired priest, 
.wherever he may happen to be. Those who have 
no priest are invoked at the consecrated house by 
a mataboole, as was the case in the late instance 
with TaU-y-Toobo^ who has no priest. 

Toobo Total was thus invoked every day, in the 
person of his priest, during a fortnight or three 
weeks. Seated at the head of the cava ring, * he 
seemed much affected, and generally shed a profu- 
sion of tears. To their earnest entreaties he scarce- 
ly ever made any answer, and when he did, it was, 
for the most part, to the following effect ; " Why 
do you weary yourselves with entreating me ? " 
(speaking as if he were the god) " if the power to 
restore the woman rested solely with me, I would 
do it : be assured it is all done by the will of the 
gods of Bolotoo. " Every day he visited the sick 
^girl, occasionally sat down by her, took her hand, 
Auid ebed tears. Duiin^ \!ba& ^voi^ \^^ isANftk^^^Ut 
• See tho£ibfmo£\tv90«sioo^^^» 



tHfe TOlNOA I8LAKI»». !^l 

frieqtiently repftired to the house of the priest, aftd 
laying cava before him, consulted him piivatelj* 
On one of these occasions, Finow not being prd* 
sent, he told them that if they knew why ^e child 
was sick they would not (k>me thus to invoke him. 
He then declared, in general terms, ihlit it was fot 
the cotamon good, finow, being infonned of this» 
addressed the priest at the consultation on the fol- 
lowing morning, Asking him (or rather the god 
within him) what he meant by the geujeral good ? 
** If my spirits are oppressed, are no^ those of all 
my subjects so likewise ? but if the gods have any 
resentment against us, let the whole weight of ven- 
geance fkll on my head : I fear not their vengeance, 
-—but spare my child ; and I earnestly entreat ytm, 
Toobo TotMy to exert all your influenoe with thd 
oiiher gods, that I alone may tufier all the punish- 
ment they desire to inflict. To this the god re- 
turned no answer, and th^ priest retiring among 
the peoiple, the company separated. 

As soon as Finow arrived at his house, his spi- 
rits much agitated, and his pride, in all probiJ[M>- ' 
lity, much hurt, he laid down oh his mat, and 
felt himself indisposed. His illness hourly increas- 
ed ; and feeling, as he said, a secret presentisiMift 
of approednng'death, his female attendants ran otft 
and infonned his chiefs mid matabooles, who In 
consequence immediately repaired to his house, 
and found him unable to sp^Jc ; for as soon as he 
saw them, he endeavoured in vain to give utter- 
ance to his ideas, and seemed choked by tlie ve- 
hemence of his inward emotions. A.^ Vst^s;^ ^ 
flood of tears coming to Vna T^<fcl^\sfe w&6»s*«- 
Jedffed thejmtice of the ^od^> >»a\i\«»«ti^fc^ ^'^ 



\ 



fS9% TRAN8A0TIOK8 AT 

ly thai he was about to meet his death cm a bed 
of sickness, instead of going to brare it in the field 
of battle. After a little pause, he said in a calm 
but firm tone of voice, '^ I tremble at the approach- 
ing fate of my cx)untry; for I perceive plainly, 
that after my death the state of afiairs will be 
much alterea for the worse. I have had daily 
proofs, that the obedience of my subjects is not 
excited by their love, but by their fears. " 

Several chiefs and matabooles who, owing to 
the crowd, were not able to get into the house, 
but overheard what passed, went immediately to 
the priest of Toob6 Totaiy and presenting him 
cava root, sat down before him. An old matsr 
boole then addressed him, stating that they had 
fiitn belief in the povrer which the gods po ssoaacd 
of inflicting wbd pwUmient they chose upon 
mortals. Bat he entreated the gods to use his in- 
fluence with the other powers of Bolotoo, that 
they might not take offence at what Finow had 
said in the moming, which was merely spoken 
on the impulse of the moment, when warmly agi- 
tated with sentiments of affection for his daughter, 
and not from any real disrespect to the gods. He 
supplicated him also to have regard to the general 
good of the islands, and not, by depriving them of 
Finow, involve'the whole nation in anarchy and 
confusion. The priest renudned some time in si- 
lence, and was much affected. At leng^ he an- 
nounced that the gods of Bolotoo had, for a long 
time past, debated among themselves with regard 
to the piuushment they should inflict upon Finow, 
£mr the many instancca \ie VvbA ^orvm. ^^ dsaobe- 
^wce to religioQB preceptAt «a!^ oi «Rfc«^\B%^fi»r 
'«V«ct for divine power ; \!iML\.^«^^^M^^^«*^- 



TH« TOMOA ISLANDS. £9S 

fidlved upon his desithy but that he (Toob6 Tot^) 
having repeatedly interceded in his behalf, somi 
of the other gods also took his part; in conseh 
quence of which, there arose very violent dissen- 
sions in Bolotoo ; not, as he explained to them> 
by actual fighting, for gods are immortal, and can . 
neither be killed, wounded, nor hurt, but by ut'* 
gent and potent arguments, which had occasioned, 
he said, the late high winds and tremendous thun- 
der. That they had consequently come to a reso- 
lution of saving his life, seeing that his death 
would be a greatei* evil to his people than to him- 
self, and of punishing him in another and perhi^w 
more severe way, viz. by the death of his most 
dear and, beloved daughter, who must therefore be 
inevitably taken from him : For as it had been de- 
creed, beyond all revocation, that dither he or his 
daughter must die, her life could not be saved 
without taking away his. As a sort of proof of 
this decree, he bade them remarks that whilst Fi- 
now was at this time ill, his daughter was much 
better, and comparatively full of life and spirits, 
(which was actually the case). To-moirow, he 
said, her father would be tolerably well, for the 
gods had not decreed his immediate death, but 
only a temporary illneser, to impress on his mind a 
sense of their power, and then his daughter would 
relapse, and become as bad or worse than ever. 

The priest being now silent, the chiefs and ma- 
tabooles left him, with a strong belief of the truths 
he had been telling them. When they arrived at 
Finow's house, they found him somewhat better, 
bat did not communicate vrViat l3cL<e^ \Ai^\)Sif«s^ 
. irom bis priest This, \iowcvct^ '^^a ^ow^ ^7 
fjDoured among the other cYue*^ ww^ tdsX:^^^'^^^^ 



994 TRANSACTIONS AT 

the king's cooh'fumse, where they generally resort 
for cava, and which from custom has become a 
sort of renitezvong to pick up or to retail news. 
Mr Mariner, who had been with Hnow (his pa^ 
tron, father, and protector) during his ilhiess, com- 
ii^ to the cook-house^ and hearing what the priest 
had said, went out of curiosity to finow*s daugh- 
ter, and was surprised to find her sitting up, eaXr 
ing ripe bananas, and in very good spirits, talking 
at intervals to her female attendants. 

In the evening Finow, feeling himself for the 
most part recovered, visited his daughter, and 
(bund her much worse than, as he was informedy 
she had been in the morning. He now expressed 
Jiis intention of passing the night at her house, 
wliich he accordingly did. When be awoke in the 
normng he felt himself perfectly recovered ; but 
going to his daughter's mat, he found, to his ut- 
most grief, that she was worse than ever. In the 
course of the morning he went down to the sea- 
shore, to direct some alterations he had designed 
in the sail of his canoe, in which he also em- 
ployed himself (to distract his thoughts proba- 
bly) the greater part of the day. At night he 
again slept at the house of his daughter; and 
very early the following morning ordered all his 
chiefis, matabooles, and attendants, to go cm 
board his canoes, and gave directions fbr his 
daughter also to be carried on board ; then follow- 
ing himself, made sail for the island of Ofoo, with 
intention of consulting AMi Valoo, the tutelar god 
of his aunt Toe Oomoo. They anived after two 
hours sail, and immed\at^7> qtv\k[\^\vi^^ ^«:t& ^sod 
presented cava root to ti\\^ ^vve^x. o1 ^^\. ^i^W;^ 
*w|i« of the priest Mr Mmi*ft^>Mtf^^«^%^^^*^V ^ 




THB TONGA^ I8I.AK08. M0 

the mean time the sick child was taken tt> the 
god's consecrated house. The con^iany being sealr 
ed in the presence of the priest, a bowl of caya 
was presented to him, when the god said*— '^ It is 
in vain that yon come here to invoke me t^n a 
subject on which you have obtained all the infor* 
mation that it is necessary for yon to know. Too- 
66, Total has already instructed yon in the will of 
the gods, and I can communicate nothing farther." 
The priest having said this, Finow and his attend- 
ants rose up and went their way. In the course 
of the aftmoon, the supposed victim of divine 
vengeance was removed to several other conse- 
crated houses in the same island, and was suffered 
to remain about half an hour or an hour in each, 
with the hope that she would derive benefit from 
the auspices of either of the deities, who were 
imagined to reside in those places. Removal, how- 
ever, appeared to make her worse ; and at length 
she was almost speechless. During the night ber 
father, with anxious solicitude, sat by the side of 
ber mat, watching, with sighs and tears, the pro- 
gress of her disorder. The next morning, which 
lyrought no sign of returning health to enliven the 
hopes of an afflicted parent, Finow gave direc- 
tions to proceed to Macave, the place at Vayaoo 
where, as the reader will recollect, Bocboonoo^ 
dacahoOy and several other great warriors, were 
seized by Finow s orders. By the time they had 
got a little more than half way to Vavaoo, the 
poor child died. Immediately all the female at- 
tendants began to lament in a most woful strain, 
beating their breasts with violent a^taJioxv^^aBA ^sw- 
bibiting every mai'k of sonovy «dA ^^fcs^'ws ?''^^*^ 
i^ow eat in silence and de^^>ADtk, ^««s^'^% ^** 



M6 TRANSACTIONS AT . 

tlM ftfcta of his daughter. In a little time tiiey 
readied the coast of Vavaoo^ and took the hody 
to a large house, called B66no, (six posts), on the 
maiai at Neafoo, followed hy Finow, his wives, 
ehiefs, matabooles, and attendants, all habited in 
mats. The body was laid out on a fine and beau* 
tifol Hamoa mat, and then washed over with a 
mixture of oil and water; after which it was 
anointed with sandal-wood oil. 

It must be here noticed, that the king had de- 
termined, in the event of his daughter s death, not 
to bury her exactly after the Tonga fashion, but 
partly according to that, partly agreeably to the 
custom of Hamoa, and partly according to a fEmcy 
of his own. After the body was washed and 
anointed with oil, it was wrapped up in fourteen 
or fifteen yards of fine East India embroidered 
muslin, which had formerly belonged to one of the 
officers of the Port an Prince. It was next laid 
in a large cedar chest, which had been made on 
board the same ship, for the use of Mr Brown, out 
of some cedar planks taken in a prize. Over the 
body were strewed wreaths of flowers, made for 
the purpose by her female attendants. Orders were 
now issued by Finow, that nobody should wear 
mats, although it was customary on such solemn 
occasions, but should dress themselves in new tapas 
(this is the Hamoa custom); and instead of i/i 
leaves round their necks, he ordered that they 
should wear wreaths of flowers (this was an idea 
of his own), as if dressed for some occasion of re- 
joicing. The chest was placed on two large bales 
of ftnatoOy in the middle of the house, and the 
body lay thus in stale iot \ke «^^^fc ^1 Xw^scfc^ 
A»y» ; during which timeMoo(m^TwJ>Q^;^\siwrf"^ 



THB TONOA IBLANDB. MY 

principal wife^ and all her female attendants, re* 
inained constantly with the body. In the oonn« 
of the first night the monmers broke oat in a kind 
of recitative, like that on occasion of the death of 
Toobo Nuha (p. 134.), bat in a very imperfect 
way, because finow had ordered that no appear- 
ance of sprrow'or sound of lamentation should be 
made ; but, in spite of this injunction, they occa* 
sionally could not restrain their grief, beating tbeir 
breasts with every mark of deepfelt anguish. It 
is difficult to conceive the reason of Finow's whim- 
sical conduct on this occasion, unless it were (aa 
generally interpreted) an impious and revengelul 
endeavour to insult tibie gods, by ordering those 
ceremonies not to be performed which were con- 
sidered objects of religious duty on such sacred 
occasions. Every morning and evening provisions 
ond cava were brought for the entertainment of 
those who attended on the body. On the nine- 
teenth day it was removed from the cedar cheats 
9nd deposited in the model of a ca^oe, about three 
feet and a half long, made for the express purposey 
and nicely polished by one of Flnow's carpenteiv 
(this is the Hamoa custom). By this time the 
body had become much inflated^ and e^Ltremely 
offiBnsive ; but the office of removing it was per- 
formed by some foreigners, natives of Hamoa, who 
were accustomed to such tasks.* During the 
whole of this day, and the following mght, the 

* At Hamoa (the Navigator's Island) it is the custom 
to keep the dead above ground for a considerable length of 
time, as above related. As the body, during this perioc^ 
is apt to become very inflated, it is the duty of a relatioiji 
to prevent this happening to a great ei.\AWV^ ^^^r^kSo^, 
of a taost disgustiog operaUoUv ivi. \Dsii^% ^.V^^V^^w?^ 



2i6 TRANSACTIONS AT 

body enclosed in the canoe, with the lid closeTy' 
fastened down, remained in the house. In the 
mean time Finow issned orders for a general as- 
sembly of all the inhabitants of the island, to take 
place the ensuing morning, and nobody to be ab- 
sent under any pretext whatsoeyer, not even that 
of illness. Early the following day all the people 
accordingly assembled before the house, where 
there was a large supply of provisions and cava 
for the conclusion of the ceremony. In the mean 
time the body was conveyed to the F5rtoca, where 
it was deposited inside the house, without any 
pomp or form, not within the grave, but on the top 
of h, that Finow might see the coffin whenever he 
pleased, and take it away with him whenever he 
went to a distance. 

On this extraordinary occasion, which the ca- 
price of Finow rendered a scene of rejoicing ra- 
ther than of mourning, after the provisions and 
cava were shared out, they began the entertain- 
ments of wrestling and boxing as usual at festi- 
vals. After the men had shown their strength 
and dexterity in these feats by single engagements, 
the king gave orders that all the women who re- 
sided north of the mooa should arrange themselves 
on one side, ready to combat all the women who 
resided south of the mooa, who were to arrange 
themselves on the other. It was not a very rare 
occurrence for women to fight in pairs on occa- 
sions of rejoicing ; but a general engagement like 

part of the abdoment and, the mouth being applied, suck- 
ing out the putrescent {Lua^a^ axv^ %\\VX.vc\^thetn into a dish. 
^nd this is done out of \ave «LTv^%S«s:>a.owiat^^ ^^^ss&x&x 
without any apparent svgna ot A\*®i%\. IJU^wx^xVw^ 
^^ ftoiu MTerml natVres ot 'QL&mo^ 



TH£ TONGA ISLANDS. 299 

this, with about fifteen hundred women on each 
side, was a thing altogether new, and beyond all 
precedent, and quite unexpected at a fdneral cere- 
mony. The women, however, readily engaged, 
and kept up the contest, with obstinate bravery, 
for about an hour, without a foot of ground being 
lost or gained on either side : Nor would the battle 
have subsided then, if Finow, seeing the persever- 
ing courage of these heroines, had not ordered 
them to desist, the battle having cost them several 
sprained ancles and broken arms* They fought 
with a great deal of steadiness, and gave feir hits, 
without pulling one anotlier s hair. The men now 
divided themselves in like manner into two par- 
ties, and began a general engagement, which was 
persisted in a considerable time with much fury, 
till at length that party which belonged to the side 
of the island on which Finow dwelt began to give 
way. Instantly he rushed from the house in which 
he was seated, to reanimate his men by his pre- 
sence and exertions, which he effected to such a 
degree, that the opposite party in their turn fell 
back, and were completely beaten off the ground. 

This contest being now ended, the company 
dispersed, each to his respective home, whilst 
Fmow retired to a small house, which had been 
built since his daughter's death, near Bo6no (the 
large house on the malai) ; and there, feeling 
himself much exhausted, he laid down to rest fromi 
his fatigue. He had not been long in this posture, 
before he found himself very ill : his respiration 
became difhcult; he turned himself repeatedly 
from side to side ; his lips beeaxue \.^ai^^> «xA^^b» 
under jaw seemed convuiaed, '^xoisvxvsssfe^^*^'^^^^^ 

VOL. I. 2 b ^ 



300 TRANSACTIONS AT 

be groaned deeply and most borriblyy and the by- 
Btanden were rnoch affected. The women fhed a 
profvaion of tean, and the men were oceupied ^o 
doubt with the thoii§^ts of what commotion miglit 
. happen in the event of his death, what blood might 
be spilt, and what battles lost and won. The 
king, in the meanwhile, seemed perfectly sensible 
of his situation. He attempted to speak, but the 
power of utterance was almost denied him. One 
word alone could be clearly distinguished, ,/bnnooa 
(land or country) : Hence it was supposed that 
he meant to express his anxiety respecting the 
mischiefs and disturbances that might happen to 
the country in the event of his deau. Aifter wait? 
iug a little time, finding he did not get better, thQ 
pnnce, and a young chaef named Voogi, went out 
to procure one of Pmow's children by a female 
attendant, to sacrifice it to the gods, that their 
anger might he appeased, and the health of its 
father restored. * They found the child in a 
neighbouring house, unconsciously sleeping in ita 
mother s lap. They took it away by force, and 
retiring with it behind an adjacent Fytoi^ strang- 
led it as quickly as possible with a band of ^720- 
(00, They tlien carried it with all speed before 
two consecrated houses and a grave, at each place 
hurrying over a short but appropriate prayer to 
the god to interfere witii the other gods in belialf 
of rinow* and to accept of this sacrifice as an a- 
tonenient for Ida crimes. Tliey now returned to 
the place where Finow lay, but found ium with 

* For further paTticvilar* rospcctinj: thi<: cororoor.y. s*« 
'^rvt chat the (>vb *cr« «»I«\^iV^:^c^ »i\» \tc^\\tvMik 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 301 

scarcely any signs of life, speechless and motionless : 
his heart, however, could be just felt to beat. In iJie 
mean while he was placed on a sort of hand-barrow, 
witich had been just made on purpose, &ncying 
there were still some hopes of his recovery, and 
carried to different consecrated houses, although he 
had, almost beyond a doubt, breathed his last with 
violent struggles ten minutes before. He was first 
carried to the house dedicated to Tali-y-Toob6, 
where an appropriate prayer to the god was hur- 
ried over, the corpse (for it was now perhaps no- 
thing more) was then conveyed to the h6use of 
the god To6i'fb6a-Bolotoo^ where a similar pray- 
er was preferred. Not contented with this, they 
next carried it to the grave of a female chief 
named Chinitacala, whose spirit was in like man- 
ner invoked. Some hope still remaining, the body 
was at last carried a mile and a half up the country, 
on the road towards Felletoa, to the residence of 
Tooitonga, their great divine chief, at Nioo Lolo. 
Having arrived here, it was conveyed to Tooi- 
tonga's cook-house, and placed over the hole in 
the ground where the fire is lighted : this being 
liiought acceptable to the gods, as a mark of ex- 
treme humiliation, that the great chief of all the 
Hapu Islands, and Vavaoo, should be laid where 
the meanest class of mankind were accustomed to 
operate. All this time Tooitonga remained in his 
own house, for his high character, as a descendant 
of the gods, rendered it altogether unnecessary, 
and even degrading and improper, that he should 
interfere in this matter. 

By this time, his friends lo%\Xk!^ «S^>aa^^^^ "«»^^ 
being convinced that he waa le^Wj ^«aA,>sw^'^ 
the body back to Neafoo, \v\veTe \\. ^J^^ ^^^"^ 



30^ TRANSACTIONS AT 

the large house on the mcdaiy called Bo6no. In 
the mean while, many chiefs and warriors secretly 
repaired to their spears (which were tied up in 
handles), and put them loose, ready to be seized 
at a moment's notice; and selecting out their clubs, 
arranged them in order, expecting every moment 
tlie shout of war from one quarter or another. If 
we take a cursory view of the state of affidrs at 
this critical juncture, we shall find tliat such ap- 
prehensions were by no means groundless. 

The late How was no sooner deceased, than all 
those priqdpal chiefs who had, or imagined they 
had, any daims to the government of Vavaoo, 
were expected to take up arms to assert thdr 
cause. Amons; these was Voona Labi, otherwise 
Tooa Callby who, it may be recbUecied, returned 
from Hamoa with the late king's son (see p. 140), 
and was chief of Vavaoo at the period of the 
Tonga revolution, being afterwards dispossessed of 
his island by Finow. — Toobo Toa was another chief 
who it was thought would put in a claim, on ac- 
count of his great strength in fighting men, and 
for having killed the late chief of Vavaoo (Too- 
bo Nuba). A third chief was Fuiow Fiji, the 
late How's brother, who perhaps Tiad' a' greater 
claim than either, on account of his relationship. 
He was also a brave warrior, and considered to be a 
man of great prudence and'wisdonk ; but altlioujih 
brave, when occasion called fortli his courage, lie 
was remarkable for sage counsel, and for strong 
aversion to every kind of conspiracy or disturbance ; 
and it was supposed by some that he would not 
lay any claim. SucVv ^«a the opinion entertained 

by the prince atid \\\« ^^^^ *^ ^^^ ^^ ^"^^ ^"^^"^ 
<=We& and iheir de^euA^ixvXft ^wm^\\. ^i'vJwix^>aft ^V 



THB TOlfOA ISLANDS* SOS 

Hnow Fiji, and expected he would prove a very 
powerful claimant. * Apprehensions were also 
entertained respecting the young chief Voogi, who 
assisted in strangling the child ; for though it was 
not supposed he would lay claim to the sovereign- 
ty, yet being known to be strongly in the interest 
ojp Toobo Toa, his conduct required to be strictly 
watched. These were the chiefs, whose behaviour 
at this moment the young prince had to notice 
with a watchful eye. He had considerable confi* 
dence, however, in the sincerity of his uncle, and 
Toobo Toa was at the Hapai Islands. 

Such was the state of political aifairs at the time 
of Finow's death. As soon as his body was de- 
posited on the bales of gnatoo^ as before mention- 
ed, one of his daughters, a beautiful girl of about 
fifteen, who stood by at the time, went almost 
frantic with excess of sorrow. The expressions of 
her grief were at first in loud and frequent screams, 
or in broken exclamations. O ytwoi ! ecoo tarn' 
myS! O yaooS / Alas I — Oh ! my father ? — Alas I 
— Her sorrow was so great that, at times, she ap- 
peared quite bereft; of reason ; and her truly pa- 
thetic expressions of it, joined to thoflfe of the 
widows, and female attendants of the late king, 
all beating their breasts, and screaming from time 
time, rendered the house truly a house of monm- 

♦ Finow originally had two brothers, viz. Finow Piji, 
and Toobo Nuha, but by different mothers. Finow's 
lengthened name was Finow Ooloocalala. The proper 
family name is Finow, but no member of the royal family 
is allowed to assume the family name till his appointment 
to the sovereignty, unless his fatheT cVioo^^ Vd ^«i"Sx\&s»- 
as a sort of first name, to whicYi b\% oyixv ^itcs^'t '^^'^'^^ 
attached^ as was the case with Fvuov 1S\^\, Yvaovi'^Xjitwo*^' 

2b 2 



3M TKANSACTIOXS AT 

ing, beyond the pofwer of inngination to picture. 
The place was lighted op at night, by lampa with 
cocoarimt oil (used ooly on anch occasitHis), pre- 
senting a scene, if possible, still more affecting 
than that which happened on the occasion of Too- 
b6 Noha's death* 

In the coarse of the night, Mr Mariner went 
inta the house seyeral times, partly ont of curiosi- 
ty indeed, but principally moved by feelings of 
regret for the loss of his great and kind patron ; — 
for thongh he conld not in every point of view ad- 
mire him as a man,^yet he conld not but esteem 
and reverence him as a benefactor. He had re- 
ceived from him great and numerous flavours ; and 
notwithstanding his fiuilts, there was something 
in his character which commanded respect ; and 
Mr Mariner felt that, in losing him, he had sus- 
tained a very great loss. Tlie prince checked him 
in these frequent visits to the house, urging, that 
as he was a man, he ought to feel as a man, and 
not mingle hb sorrows with those of women. If 
he wished to express his love for Finow, who had 
adopted him as his son, and had given liim the 
name of one whom he had lost some yeai's before,* 
he should demonstrate that love and respect for 
the memory of so good a father, by engaging his 

' * The name of this son was T6^i Oo^ummta (an iron 
axe), which was also the name of one of the gods of the 
sea. For as they only obt^n iron axes from across the sea, 
they naturally attribute the advantages which they possess, 
in having such A, useful instrument, to the bounty of a sea^ 

Jod, whom they have accordingly designated by this name. 
'inow's son, who was so called^ was a great favourite of 
iuB father, who, when be aAo^Ve^ "^t "^Vaxvcv^t^^N^Vvlm 
*A« same oame, as a ptooi o^ V\% t«s\ «a\wEwv. "^tW: 
^J^^ym went by this nwnc, w iox ^wv^c» ^j^^,T^ 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. S05 

attentions in the interests of Ins fiamilyy partica- 
larly in those of himself, who was jhis lawfol beb 
— and not show his affliction by a silly profiDsion 
of tears and sighs, which was beneath the exalted 
diaracter of a warrior. 

About the middle of the night, no actual dis- 
turbance had taken place ; but some of the prince s 
confidents, who were dispersed about to be on the 
watch, brought intelligence that Voona was hold- 
ing secret conferences with some of the natives of 
Vavaoo. The princ e, however, thought it advisa- 
ble not to take any active measures, nor to appear 
to notice it. He therefore merely ordered his spies 
to keep a strict eye upon their proceedings, and to 
obtain all the information they could, without in- 
curring suspicion. At the same time he resolved 
in his own mind, as soon as the consent of the peo- 
ple should establish his authority, to banish all sus- 
picious chiefs to the Hapai Islands. About an 
hour afterwards, he learnt that Voogi the preced- 
ing day had ordered sundry parties of his men to 
post themselves behind the bushes, on each side 
the road to Nioo Lalo, during the time that Fi- 
now*s body was being carried there, with orders 
to rush out and kill all who accompanied the body, 
in case a fit opportunity presented itself. But no 
such opportunity baving offered, his men had as- 
sembled armed along with him, at a house near 
the water-side, with his canoe close at hand, and 
bad been there all the preceding part of the night. 
The prince also ordered that no notice should ba 
taken of his hostile position, but that all his own 
men should keep themselv^ ^f^ «xt&!^ vb^^^ 
perfect readiness to meet tVft eaaxK^ va ^a»fc ^ "^ 
^rolt ; sod despatched mea V> i^r^XAia^ «^ ^oasw?* 



906 TRANSACTIONS AT 

as possible other chiefs, whom he began to think 
might be connected with Voogi. During the re- 
mainder of the night, no disturbance took place. 
In the morning, as soon as it was light, the people 
began to assemble on the mcUSi, out of respect to 
the departed chief, and sat on the ground, waiting 
for the commencement of the ceremonies usual on 
such extraordinary occasions. 

In the mean time the prince^ and his uncle 
Finow Hji, prepared cava at a neighbouring house, 
and presented it there to the priest of Toobo Tofaiy 
out of respect to that god, who was now become 
the tutelar deity of the young prince. By the 
mouth of his priest the god desired him not to fear 
rebellion ; for who should dare to rebel against a 
chief who was the peculiar care of the powers of 
Bolotoo ? He commanded him, moreover, to re- 
flect on the circumstances of his father's death, as 
a ealutaiy lesson to himself. " Your father, " said 
tlie divinity, " is now no more ; — ^b^t why did he 
die ? — because he was disrespectful to the gods ! " 
The conference here ended. A short time after, 
the prince, whilst reflecting on the words of the 
oracle, was addressed by a woman, who was sit- 
ting behind him in waiting, and who was much 
respected by the late king and his family, on ac- 
count of her having given him . some infoimation 
respecting a real or supposed conspiracy, on the 
part of the Vavaoo chiefs ; (Booboono, Cacahoo, 
and others, who were seized in consequence at- 
Macave, and afterwards put to death ; see p. 232). 
This woman remarked to the prince, that his fa- 
^fter, jasfc before he NV%a \a^^fitv. '^^ >mA ^^\^. \j«<\ 
ftten to her to procure a to^e^ (^^WVwvw^^vi ^ 



THB TOMGA Ifti.A'NDfl. 807 

secretly. These two men, wbose names were 
Toohengi and Boboto (the former the son of Toobo 
Boogoo a priest, the latter a cook), happening now 
to be present, the prince turned to them, and ask- 
ed if they knew the purpose for which his father 
wanted this rope — whom he meant to bind wi^ 
it ? — Hearing this question, Mr Mariner, who was 
sitting close to him, exclaimed, " What I did yoa 
not know that he intended to bind, and afterwards 
to kill Toobo Tea, the priest of Toobo Total, to 
be reven^d on this god for not brining about his 
daughter s recovery ? " * This fact was after- 
wards confirmed by other persons, and particularly 
by certain warriors, who had actually received or- 
ders to seize Toobo Tea, and murder him. Thus 
was a plan of sacrilegious wickedness brought to 
light, which made all who now heard it for the 
first time shudder at the mere thought. '* No 
wonder I '* — (for such was the general exclamation) 
— " no wonder that he died ! a chief with such 
dreadful intentions ! " Mr Mariner then stated^ 
in addition, that he had heard the king say more 
than once (a few days before he died), " How un- 
mindful are the gods of my welfare ! — but no I it 
is not the decree of the gods in general ; — it is to 
that vexatious Toobo Total that I owe my misfor*' 
tunes ; he does not exert himself for my good. 
But wait a little, 111 be revenged I his priest shall 
not live long^I " f 

^ This intention of the king had only been cautiously 
whispered about among a few chiefs and matabooles that 
were constantly with him ; and his sudden sickness and 
gpeedy death, which prevented hini putting his threats mtA 
execution, had so occupied e^w"^ VxA^^ ^av3L^Vi^^ "^^fc. 
tJie circumstance for a time "was ioTgc^X«t\. ^, . 

t Finow had often stated to Mx ^^^xvet \S» tovioNs^ ^^ 



S08 TRAK8ACTI0NS AT 

The prince and his nncle, Finow Fiji, next held 
a conrahation together respecting their mokle of 
ccmdact, particnlia^y in regard to certain chiefs, who 
were suspected of not being well disposed towards 
their family. Pinow Fiji, for his own part, said, 
that, he had no other wish than to coincide in iltrhat- 
erer should seem likoly to establish the peace and 
welfare of Hctfooloo How (the name given to Vavaoo 
and all its neighbouring small islands, taken collect- 
ively), and that the only method of doing tins would 
be to send all those chiefs, who pretended to have 
a right to the sovereignty, or who were suspected 
of such pretensions, away to the Hapai Islands. 
As to hts nephew, he said, that there could not 
vftM arise any dispute to his right of succession 
(except on the put of ill disposed chiefs), inas- 
much as he was the late king's heir, and was well 
beloved by the Vavaoo people, on account of his 
having been the adopted son of the late Toob6 
Nuba, and also because he was bom at Vavaoo, 
and brought up there. The prince agreed with 
his uncle on the propriety of sending the pretend- 
ers to the Hapai Islands, particularly Voona, who 
was of the line of ttfose chiefs who governed Va- 
vaoo before the revolt of Tonga ; and also Voogi, 
who was at the head of a strong party of men, 
and was known to be in the interest of Toobo 
T6a. The prince concluded by saying, " But let 

there were such beings as the gods. He thought that men 
were fools to believe what the priests told them. Mr Ma- 
riner expressed his wonder that he should doubt their ex- 
istence, when he acknowledged that he had more than 
once /eJt himself inspived b^ XX\<i «^vtvt of Moomoe (a for- 
mer /fow of Tonga. " True\*' T«i^\\«^^^Vvcv%,'^^ ^^x^ 
«i»y be gods ; but what t\ve v^\e%\s. ^^^'^ >^* ^^^ '^^^^ 
Mfower tifer mankind, I bcXie^e ^^« ^Wto^vi. 



TH|( TONGA ISLANJ>8. SOS 

US wait as quietly as possible till the burial of my 
father, and then we shall have a different scene in 
the affairs of Vavaoo. When aU promoters of 
civil discord are banished, the land shall be culti- 
vated, and shall appear again flourishing, for we 
have had war enough I " To which every body 
present replied, " *Tis all we wish for. " 

From the above sentiments of the two chiefs, it 
will appear to be their intention to confine the 
new sovereignty to the island of Vavaoo, and its 
neighbouring isles, without receiving tribute (un- 
less voluntarily p|dd, which was not at all likely 
to be the case), from the Hapai Islands, now in 
possession of Toob6 Toa, against whom the princQ 
had no intention of waging a new war, and shed* 
ding more blood, for the in^re purpose of oblig- 
ing him to continue that tribute 9^ heretofore. 

The conference being ended, the two chiefs 
turned their attentioin to the removal of the body 
o( the late How to F^lletoa to be buried, as there 
were no fytocas at Ne^foo but such as belonged 
to the &mily of Tooitonga; and it would have 
been contrary to custom to have buried an indivi-i 
dual of the How s family in a gr^ve belonging to 
that of Tooitonga. 



510 TRANSACTIONS AT 



CHAPTER XIII. 

All the chiefs and tnatabooles were now assem- 
bled on the mcUai at Neafoo. Among the rest 
was Vooha, to whom the prince went up, and m- 
tmtated the necessity of remoiriiig the body of his 
fieuiher to F^lletoa* It would have been, thought very 
disrespectful if he had not mentioned this to Yoona 
before he issued ordei-s respecting it, because Voona 
was a very great chief, even greater than Finow 
himself; and such a reserve on such a public oc- 
casion, towards a superior, would have been an 
act offensive to the gods. It may appear strange 
that Yoona was a greater chief than the son of 
the king, yet it is a frequent occun-ence, that the 
king is chosen from a family not of the highest 
rank, on account of his superior wisdom or mili- 
tary skill, and this was the case with the present 
royal family ; so that the king is often obliged to 
pay a certain ceremonious respect (hereafter to be 
noticed) towards many other chiefs, even little 
children, who aie greater nobles than he. 

The company were now all seated, habited in 
mats, waiting for iW Wd^ q{ the deceased king to 
be brought forth, TV\fe movOTiet^^ ^V^ ^nk. i^vc^-^ 
nromen, consisting oi \)tiBlm.^'i^^<^^^^.^^^^^v 



THB TOKGA ISLANDS. 311 

mistresses, and servants of the deceased, and such 
other females of some rank who choose, out of 
respect, to officiate on the occasion, were assem- 
hled in the house, and seated romid the corpse, 
which still lay out on the hales of gnatoo. They 
were all habited in large, old, ragged mats ; the 
more ragged, the more fit for the occasion, as be- 
ing more emblematical of a spirit broken down, 
or, as it were, torn to pieces by grief. Their ap- 
pearance was calculated to excite pity and sorrow 
in the heart of any one, whether accustomed or 
not to such a scene. Their eyes were swollen 
with the last night's frequent flood of grief, and 
still weeping genuine tears of regret ; the upper 
part of their cheeks perfectly black and swollen, 
BO that they could hardly see, with the constant 
^ blows they had inflicted on themselves with .their 
fists ; and their breasts also were equally bruised 
%ith their own misplaced and untimely rage. 

Among the chiefs and matabooles who were 
seated on the nuddi, all those who were particu- 
larly attached to the late king, or to his cause, 
evinced their sorrow by a conduct, usual indeed 
among these people at the death of a relation, or 
of a great chief (unless it be that of Tooitonga, or 
any of his family), but which, to us, may well ap- 
pear barbarous in the extreme ; that is to say, the 
custom of cutting and wounding themselves with 
clubs, stones, knives, or sharp shells. One at a 
time, or two or three together, would run into the 
middle of the circle formed by the spectators, to 
give these proofs of their extreme sorrow for the 
death, and great respect for \Vvft xiveavar^ ^ ^«a. 
departed Mend. ThtBX^iiixvsi'&^AA^'v^x^^ 

• VOL. I. %C 



312 TRANSACTIONS AT - 

Actinia of popular supeivtitioii were to the foIlow>> 
ing purpose : — finow I I know well yoor mind; 
yon have departed to BolotoOy and left yo« 
people under suspicion that I, or some of iJboaa 
about you, were unfaithful: But where is tiha 
proof of infidelity? where is a single instance of 
disrespect ? " Then, iniicting violent blows, and 
deep cuts in the head with a club, stone, or knifi% 
would again exclaim, at intervals, *' Is this not a 
proof of my fidelity ? does this not evince loyahj 
and attachment to the memory of the departed 
warrior?" Then, perhaps, two or three woald 
run up, and endeavour to seise the same ebA, 
aaying, with a furious tone of voice, ** Bdiold I 
the land is torn with strife! it is smitten to pieeesl 
it is split by revolts I how my blood boils ! let us 
baBte and die ! I no longer wish to live I your 
death, Finow, shall be mine I But why did I wiak 
hitherto to live ? it was for you alone ! it was in 
your service and defence, only, that I wished to 
breathe! but now, alas, the country is ruined! 
Peace and happiness are at an end ! your death 
has insured ours ! henceforth war and destruction 
sdone can prosper. " These speeches were accom* 
panied with a wild and frantic agitation of the 
body, whilst the parties cut and bruised their 
heads every two or three words, with the knife 
or club they held in their hands. 

Others somewhat more calm and moderate in 

their grief, would parade up and down with iia- 

ther a vtdld and agitated step, spinning and whirl« 

ing the club about, striking themselves with the 

edge of it two oi iDIcvt^^ \]vkv«% V\^\ftsvUY nj^an the 

top or back of iW >a«a.^ % «sv^ '^^> ^>A^«i6e| 

Mtoppmg^ and \ooWVn^ ^e^<S!lwKS.>^ ^\. '^ftft \savr«v« 



THE TOHGA I8LAHD8. 31S 

ttlent spattered witk blood, excluBiy " Abs ! my 
dub, who could hnwe mid tfait yon wmild hmre 
done this kiad office for me^ and hare emdiled me 
dms to evince a testimony of my respect for R- 
now ! Never, no, never can yon again tear open 
liie bndns of his enemies I Alas ! what a great 
and mighty warrior has fiallen I Oh, Finow, cease 
to suspect my loyalty ; he convinced of my fideli- 
ty I But what absurdity am I talking I If I had 
appeared treacherous in your sight, I should have 
met the fate of those numerous warriors who have 
ftllen victims to your just revenge. But do not 
tirmk, Fmow, tl»t I reproach you ; no ! I wish 
only to convince you of my innocence ; for whoy 
ihat has thoughts of harming his chiefs, shall grow 
white-headed like me ? (an expression made use 
of by some of the old men). O cruel gods ! to 
deprive us of oar father, of our only hope, for 
whom alone we wished to live I We have, in- 
deed, other chiefs, but they are only chiefs in rank, 
and not, like you, alas! gr^ and mighty in war ! ** 
Such were their sentiments and conduct on this 
laoumful occasion. Some, more violent than 
others, cut their heads to the skull with such 
strong and irequent blows, that ^ey caused them- 
selves to reel, producing afterwards a temporary 
loss of reason. It is difficult to say to what lengm 
this extravagance would have been carried, parti- 
cularly by one old man, if the prince had not or- 
dered Mr Mariner to go up and take away the 
club from him, as well as two others that were 
engaged at the same time. It is customary on 
such occasions, when a man takea a. cVaS:^ ^ks^&. 
BDotber, to use it himaeU in liSafe «wnfe '^wb^ ^&s«q^ 
his bead; bat Mr Miamex W«^^«^^«w»^e«*•»"^ 



314 TRANSACTIONS AT 

not expected to do thk ; he therefore went up, iind» 
after some hesitation and struggle, secured the 
dubs, one after another, and returned with them to 
his seat, when, after a while, they were taken by 
others who used them in like manner. 

After these savage expressions of sorrow had 
been continued for nearly three hours, the prince, 
having first signified his intentions to Voona, for 
reasons before stated, gave orders that the body! of 
his father should be taken to Felletoa to be ba» 
ried. In the first place, a bale of gncOoo was put 
on a kind of hurdle, and the body laid on the 
bale. The prince then ordered that, as his father 
was the first who introduced guns in the wars of 
Tonga, the two carronades should be loaded and 
fii'ed twice * before the procession set out, and 
twice after it had passed out of the malai; he 
gave directions also that the body of Finow*s 
daughter, lately deceased, should be taken out of 
the fytoca^ in the model of a canoe, and carried 
after the corpse of her father ; that, during his . 
life, as he wished always to have her body in his 
neighbourhood, she might now at length be buried 
with him. Matters being thus an-anged, Mr Ma»- 
riner loaded the guns, and fired four times with 
blank cartridge. The procession then moved 
forward. The wives of the deceased and women 
attendants proceeded in silent sorrow ; next fol- 
lowed the body of Finow, the body of his daugh- 
ter, the matabooles ; and lastly, the young prince 

"* It should be mentioned that the young prince had now 

in his possession only two carronades, the other two being 

at the Hapai Islands with Toobo Toa. But then Toobq . 

Toa had only half a barrel of guupv^wder, aad no iron shot, 

^bereaa the prince had seveTk ot e\^l>»WT^^«».^«^v«Mftf», 

derable number of balls. 



THE TOHGA ISLAKDII* 515 

and bis retinue. When the procession had got 
out of the fortress, (the malMy of which we are 
speaking, being in the middle of the fortress of 
Neafoo), and had passed the place where the 
guns were drawn up, Mr Mariner fired two more 
rounds, then loaded them with canister shot, 
ligbted a match, to be in readiness in case of 
need, and ordered the guns to follow the proces- 
sion, whilst he went last to see that they were 
properly drawn. It was not the prince's intention 
to order another salute ; but he had preriously 
told Mr Mariner to load them again, not wim 
blank cartridge but with shot, and to carry a 
lighted match in his hand, '^ for, perhaps, " said 
be, '' we may hare need of it. " This, it may be 
easily seen, was a measure of policy ; he ordered 
them to be fired, that he might have a plea for 
carrying them in the procession along with him, 
and he ordered them to be loaded a third time, as 
if they were to be in readiness for another salute 
at the grave, but in fact for his own safeguard, 
lest certain chiefe should take advantage of the 
opportunity. 

In llie course of two hours they arrived at Fel- 
letoa, where the body was laid in a house on the 
maiM at some distance from the grave, till a 
smaller house could be brought close to it ; * and 
this was done in the course of an hour. The 
comer posts being taken up, the four pieces whidi 
compose the building (a land of shed in a pyra- 

* The body is always placed in a house in front of tha 
fytocm during the time the grave is digging. If there be 
no house near, a small one is immediately biovi^l^cvc >S&<b 
purpoee, which, from the construc^otv ol ^«v\\tfra»»^>^ 
rmadily done by the aid of 50 or 60 Tcietv, 



310 TRAHSAOTIONS AT 

midal form, the eaves reaching within four feet of 
the ground), were brought by a sufficient numbevv 
of men, and put together at the place where it 
was wanted. This being done, the body was 
brought on the same hurdle or hand-barrow to the 
newly erected building, (if it may be so termed), 
and then being taken off the hurdle it was laid 
within, on the bale of gnatooj and the house was 
hung round with black gnatoOy reaching from the 
eaves to the ground. * The women, who were 
now all assembled and seated round the body, 
began a most dismal lamentation, similar to that 
at Neafoo. In the mean time a number of people, 
whose business it was to prepare graves, wer0 
digging the place of interment withhi ^efytoca^ 
^ under the direction of Lanoffh a mataboole whose 
office was to superintend such affairs. Having 
dug about ten feet, they came to the large stone 
vault, such as was described in the note p. 133 ; 
a rope being then fastened double round one end 
of the stone, which always remains a little raised 
for this pui*pose by means of certain bodies placed 
underneath ; it was elevated by the main strength 
of 150 or 200 men, pulling at the two ends of the 
rope, towards the opposite edge of the grave, till it 
was brought up on end. The body, being oiled 
with sandal-wood oil, and then wrapped in Hamoa 
mats, was handed down on a large bale of gnatoo 
into the gi-ave. The bale of gnatoo was then, as is 

• This black gnatoo, or rather gjuUoo of a dark colour* 

having a deep brown ground with black stripes, is not 

chosen on account of its cdlour, but because it is coarse 

^uid common (emb\cmal\ca\. oi ^Nctc^ wA^ad5:ics8'^, They 

^ve a Jcind of gTiotoo o£ ^«^ »\v«s^w o^^wi^ Xjnvn. ^1 S5s» 

«^e colour and pa»«ii, wv^ VXx»*>* w^ «^ ^«s=as««. tl 



TRS TONOA ISLAVDS. S17 

iBinUymaiy, taken by the before-mentioned mataboole 
as bis perqaisite. Next, the body of hiB daughter, 
in the model of a canoe, was let down in like 
manner, and placed by his side. * The great stone 
was then lowered down with a lond shout. Im« 
mediately certain matabooles and warriors ran like 
men frantic round and about the fytoca^ exclaim- 
ing, <^ Alas I how great is our loss ! Finow I you 
are departed I witness this proof of our love and 
loyalty I " At the same they cut and bruised 
their own heads with clubs, knives, axes, &c. 

The whole company now formed themselves in- 
to a single line, the women first and afterwards 
the men, but without any particular wder as to 
rank, and proceeded towards Licoo (or the back 
of the island, as they term it, because there is no 
opening for large canoes), for the purpose, as 
customary, of getting a quantity of sand in small 
baskets, for the use directly to be described. The 
guns were not however taken in the procession, 
as the young prince considered the measure nov 
unnecessary, every thing appearing perfectly quiet, 
for if any party had intended to revolt, they would 
have done it on their way from Neafoo to the 
grave, whilst they had clubs and spears in their 
possession, and not during the ceremony of burial, 

* This grave, whidi was considered a kurge one, is ca- 
pacious enough to hold thirty bodies. Two bodies which 
!l^ Mariner s^w there, and which were in a very dry but 
perfect state, had been buried, as he was told by old men, 
whenMey were boys, and consequently must have been 
there upwards of forty years; while several others, of 
which nothing remained but the bones, had not been buri- 
ed so long. This circumstance the n&t.vN«& sm^^wa \&>q& 
owing to diiS^rent kinds of conaUtuUoxi^VhoM^^va. i^^x*^- 

babiUty, to the kind or duradou of ^iiiftaafc ^ ^^^ '^'^ 
died. 



S18 TBAUBJiLcmoirs at 

before wldch everj unhi, aeeocdiiig to cnslem, db» 
poflitB his arms in the neighbouring houses. It js 
tme they might afterwards haye taken up their 
arms again and planned misdiief ; but the prince^ 
who had always his spies about, neither' perceinng 
nor hearing of any symptoms of disturbance, did' 
not wish to seem fearfal of revolt, whidi woidd 
have been the case had he taken the guns with 
Ittm to the back of the island, and which he couM 
BOt have done with any plausible pretence, sudi 
as he had for bringing ^em to FelletoB. 

In their road to the back of the ishmd they 
sang loudly the whole way, as a signal to all who 
mij^ be in the road or adjacent fields to hide 
themselves as quickly as possible, jfrom the pro* 
cession. During this part of the ceremony if any 
man had unfortunately made his appearance, he 
would undoubtedly have been pursued by one of 
the party, and soon despatched with the club. So 
strictly is this attended to, that lUobody in Mr 
Mariner 8 time recollected a breach of a law so well 
known. Even if a common man were to be buried, 
and Finow himself were to be upon the road, or 
in the neighbourhood of the procession, whilst 
going to get sand at the back of the island, he 
would immediately bide himself; not that diey 
would knock out the king's brains on such an oc- 
casion, but it would be thought sacril^ous and 
unlucky, the gods of Bolotoo being supposed to 
be present at the time ; and the chiefs are parti- 
cularly careful not to infringe upon sacred laws, 
lest they should set an example of disobedience to 
the people. Tlie song oiv tbis occasiQu^ which is 
short, is sung first by ii\» ixvcbl, «sA<JsskKa.\s^ 
^"nen, and so on BVtettv»te\^> «s^^ \s5WDafts^ 



TRB TONGA ISLANDS. 919 

(though Mr Mariner has forgotten tlie exact words) 
that the^altz (which is the name of this part oJF 
the ceremony) is coming, and that every body 
must get out of the way. 

When they arrived at the back of the island, 
where any hody may now be present, every one 
proceeded to make a small basket of the leaves of 
the ooeoa-nut tree, holding about two quarts, and 
to fill it with sand ; which done, they then pro- 
ceeded with the same ceremony to the grave. By 
this time the grave above the vault was nearly Alli- 
ed with the earth lately dug out, the remaining 
small space being* left to be filled up by the sand, 
which is always more than enough' for this pnr« 
pose, that the mount, of idiich the fytoea consists^ 
may be strewed in like manner, it being consider* 
ed a great embellishment to a grave to have it 
thus covered. The temporary house is then taken to 
pieces, and thrown behind the fytoca in the hole, 
out of which the earth was originally Uug to raise 
the mount on which the fytoca stands ; in which 
also are thrown all the baskets, as well as the re- 
maining quantity of earth not used in filling up the 
grave. The ground within the fytoca is now co- 
vered with mats, made of the leaves of the cocoa- 
nut tree. During this time the company remained 
seated on the green before the fytoca^ clothed in 
mats, and their necks strung with the leaves of 
the ifi tree. After which they arose and went to 
their respective habitations, where they shaved 
their heads, and burnt their cheeks with a small 
lighted roll of tapa, * by applying it once upon 
each cheek-bone ; after which, the place was rub- 

♦ Tdpa diff&r% from gnotoo, mcteV^ >q^ \\fc xkSjN. \«»5^ 
ttataped or imprinted with any pa\\«T^ 




. 380 TRAKBACTIOirtf AT 

bed wirii the astringent berry of tbe maickiy wbid 
oceanoBs it to blcMMl^ wnd with the blood tfa» 
smeared about the wound in a drcubr form, ti 
nearly two inches in diameter, giving tiiemselTe 
a very unseemly appearance. * They repeat thi 
friction with the berry every day, maidng th 
womid bleed afresh. And the men, in the meai 
time, neglect to shave, and to oil themselves dof 
ing the day. They do, however, at night, for ih 
comfort which it affords. After having, in tb 
first place, burnt their cheeks and shaved tha 
heads, they built for themselves small temporar 
bats, for their own accommodation during tb 
tiflw i>f monniing, which lasts tirenty days. Th 
women, who have became tabooed, bytoachini 
the dead body, remain constantly in thejj^ioca, ex 
cept when they want food, for which they retm 
to one or other of these temporary houses, to b 
fed as mentioned in the note, p. 133, but tbej 
sleep in the fytoca. The provisions with wbid 
these tabooed mourners are provided were, on tlui 
occasion, sent by the different chiefs and mala 
booles, with bales of gnatoOy first to the youiq 
prince, who then ordered the greater part of then 
to be placed on the ground at some distance fron 
the grave, or else laid down before the> temporar] 
house, to which the chief of the tabooed womei 
retires to be fed ; and she orders them to be dis 
tributed to the different chiefe and matabooles, whc 
again share them out in the usual way. The fifd 

* Those whose love for the deceased is very great, oi 

who wish it to be thought so, instead of burning their cheefa 

in the way mentioned, rub o!S ^^ ox\\el« by beating and 

rubbing their cheeks with v^».U^Q\wi^^aNaxv\^«i\x\v«tAs 

mmde of die husk, of the coc!0«^tv\i.x. \ MA^\^>»>>xos»fc.\w 

iiii operation. 



THS TONGA ISLANDS. SSI 

and tenth days of such a ceremony are, howeTer, 
■Btttfked by a greater quantity of provision than or^ 
dinary being sent, for wbich tluy give no reason 
but that of custom. On the twentieth day there 
IS also an unusually large quantity sent, by way of 
finishing ^e funeral ceremony. Wi^ these provi- 
sions they also send every day a supply of tdmei^ * 
to light up the fytoca during the night. These 
tomes are held by a woman, who, when fatigued 
with this office, is relieved by another. They are 
of the lower ranks, and, as well as ^e othera, 
when not oppressed by sleep, in general spend their 
time in talking upon indifierent subjects. During 
these twenty days also, if any one pass thefyteeOy 
he mast proceed with a slow pace, his head bowed 
down, and his hands clasped before him, if he have 
no burden ; and if he have, he must lower it (from 
his riiOBlder,for instance),and carry it in bis hands, 
6r upon his bended arms. But if he can conveni- 
ently do it, he will go a circuitous route, to avoid 
the grave. Here it may be observed, ihat, on all 
occasimiB, when a man with a burden passes a 
great chief, or the grave of a great chief, particu- 
larly if there be any one near to see him, he 
lowers his burden out of respect. Every day al«- 
Bo one or more approach, and sit before the grave 
for two or three hours, beating their faces with 
their fists. Sometimes they bruise their heads with 
dubs, in which case they stand up.f These aro 

* The tome is a sort of torch. 

f Finow's chief widow, diioonga Toob6, every iii«m- 
iDg, attended by her women, cut tlw grass short b^ore the 
grave with knives and sharp shells, &w«e^Yi^^^«i'*^'*«=**** 
smd loose blades with brooms rcvaAe oi xitva "Ofi^^ "^ 'a^'^* 
cocoa^ut leaf. They also procuT^d ^'«tt<!^^«««**^ '^^ 
principally the jidle^ and ^sn\«d t3[v^m\>«^«te \»fc V 



Sn TRANSACTIONS AT 

the uniform and essential circumstances which id- 
ways take place during this part of the ceremony 
of bmying chiefs* We now come to speak of 
those which were peculiar to this particular in*' 
stance. 

On the day after the deceased How was put in 
the ground, the principal chiefs and matabooles 
requested the prince to intimate to Voona and cer- 
tain other chiefs, their wish that they should go to 
the Hapai Islands. This he. did ; but, at the same 
time, gave them liberty to stop till the funeral 
ceremony was concluded. Voona received this 
intimation in a becoming manner, acknowledging 
the impropriety of his stay, if the people were any 
way jealous of his presence. The prince apolo- 
gized for this step, ui'ging the will of his people as 
his sole motive ; and expressed with great warmth 
his wish, that he who had been so long his fiiend 
and companion could still remain his associate. 

The following day, at a general assembly of the 
chiefs and matabooles, after the cava was prepar- 
ed, and the two first cups handed out, the third, 
which, according to custom, is presented to the 
chief who presides, was next filled ; and when an 
attendant, as usual, declaimed aloud that it was so, 
all eyes were fixed on the prince. The mataboole 
who sat next to him then exclaimed, ^' Give it to 
Finow I " — and it was accordingly handed to him, 
whilst he preserved an appearance of perfect un- 
concern at the name by which, for the first time, he 
was called. ♦ And this was a matter of no small 
importance ; for had he appeared elated at this cir- 
cumstance, he would have been thought a man of 

^ureak mind, little ca\c\i\a\ft(Ji \^i ^ ^ «o.^\^\Ba 

^t. t See ^01%, ^« ^«V 



THS TONGA ISLAND9. M% 

chief. As soon as all the cava was served out and 
drunk, Finow addressed the company to the fol- 
lowing purport : 

^'Listen to me, chiefs and warriors! — If any 
among you are discontented with the present state 
of affairs, — now is the time to go to Hapai ; for no 
man shall remain at Vavaoo with a mind discon- 
tented, and wandering to other places. I hare seen 
with sorrow the wide destruction occasioned by 
the unceasing war carried on by the chief now ly- 
ing in the malai. We* have indeed been doing a 
great deal, but what is the result ? — The land is 
depopulated ! it is overgrown with weeds, and 
there is nobody to cultivate it : had we remained 
peaceful, it would have been populous still. The 
principal chiefs and warriors are fallen, and we 
must be contented with the society of the lower 
-class. What madness i Is not life already too 
short ? Is it not a noble characteristic in a man to 
remain happy and peaceful in his station ? What 
folly then to seek for war, to shorten that which is 
already too short ! Who is there among us who 
can say, ^ I wish to die — I am weary of life ? ' 
Have we not then been acting like those of no un- 
derstanding ? Have we not been madly seizing 
the very thing which deprives us of what we 
realfy want f Not that we ought to banish 
all thoughts of fighting I If any power approach 
us with the fropt of battle, and attempt to in- 
vade our rights, our fury and bravery shall be 
excited more, in proportion as we have more pos* 
sessions to defend. Let us therefore confine our- 
selves to agriculture, for that is truly guarding our 
country. Why should we be anxious for an in- 
VOL. I. % D 



to witfftf 119 wiwisod^-^-iivtt'rinll Aolicn^ h^ 
to dminr aU hi psroduee ! Bat pcdnpi I-iii 
■pwlriiili to ywnriidyl ' Ulio A nwtitiimiw 
pment; I bcf iImb to lyivo-tfl am wnaf 
oai"feihitayiHlk» aai^oBtlwt aooountyai 
bo vflit to gofm, if nf nadl^ Itko tfait o£iliM 
mmiitiiJ^Mf wm ^t w miSbk idfiee rfothcnL: 

y o u i' ioy oil r ond ftdiity m iwiiid ii hii iii 

- ■ • _. .j^ ■ «_ — 

fvtoM yos aiyjuoepo VMBMBk 

Ii pMMDt» ttrid- tho BMttobM^ knoiriirviFiaf 
41MBI iB^pttnoi eo aco wia g^ Ae- gooi'of 
Komnwiiiii DoKiMirtlMi 'mr» fFAtr;^ 
- "AM «9 Ho flA fti* ijfm hoff RmoI 
I i|Miii'l»y«|D^ wf foiee iiPlte «cbo« 
"Ite Ompm^wmI; Oooloofphpil 
Alboj ond Fotoo» tdd AtoJ^wf li ftm fcijM^ 
flsd motaboolei of Vs«aoo.*-*Li8ten to me ! 
nuid'yoii, thot if tboo be any among yoii dii 
tonded witik this state of aAarsy the pvesent i 
cmly ' oppMtiintty" I w^ giye to d^MFt. Foi 
pass this occasion^ and not aftenmds, shaU 
oommnBioate with Hapai. GfaosBo therefore 
dwefi&ig»plaoe8. Tfam is Fiji, ihexe is Ha 
there it Tonga, there is Hapai, there is Fol 
and Lotooma l-^Thoae men in particalar hi 
minds nnanimoas, loving to dwell in con 
peaee,-^they alone shall remain at Vavaoo an 
neig^hb oo r i ng isles* Yet will I not siq>prasi 
bravely of any one warlike spirit ^-*Behold ! 
islandsof Toi^ and Fiji are constantly at war. 
Inm there display his coarage. Arise ! goto 
xvapeetrre habitt^oiis^ and recollect, that to- 
uptrlhe caaaoi 4ygXte1^«yflu^^ 
^ JPor the origoul ot ^Snir %sa «««k^ w^^ 



TRB TOH6A IBLA.IIIM. 325 

Fmow haTing finished, went to Lis honae^ ac- 
companied by the sons of his chiefs and matabooles, 
who, together with his warrions, formed liis reti- 
nae. After a repast, provided beforehand, * he 
again made an address, bat in a more &miliar and 
conversational way, on the advantages of caltivat- 
ing land for one's own food, and eating the pro- 
duce of one's own labour ; and to strengthen his 
argument, he observed, that, hitherto in Tonga, it 
had been the custom for those who formed the re- 
tinae of chiefe, to subsist on the provision which 
those chiefe thought proper to share out to them 
from their own store ; and that daring the great 
famine (which hiqipened many years before, while 
he was yet but a boy), he had remarked that more 
ci these men (chie£i' dependents) had died than 
of the lower orders, who tilled the ground for 
their own support, as well as that of their chiefs, - 
because they always found means to reserve food 
for themselves, however great might be the tax, 
while those who depended on the bounty of their 
chiefs, got but a very scanty allowance. He then 
went on, " You do not know how much pleasure 
such men feel when they view the work of their 
own hands thriving daily ; and, whilst eating, when 
they reflect that their labour has been repaid by 
the increase of their stores. Therefore let us 

translation, see the latter part of the Grammar. Mr M arin- 
er had in a manner learnt it off l)y heart, for it was so 
universally admired, that it was in every body's mouth for 
a lonff time after. 

* They often have cava parties, where little is eaten, 
which was the case with that where he made the above 
speech. Those who are fond of cava seldom eat much with 
it, conceiving that food destroy \\» %'eKoSmfe XaB!»»% «^ 
prevtfDta its due effect upou the v|«U:tD>. 



326 TBAKSACTIONS AT 

(ehiefo and attendante of chiefk) apply onrseli^ea,at • 
we have nothing else to do, to agriculture. Fol- 
low my example ; I will order a piece of ground 
to be cleared, and, during the next rain, I will as- 
sist in planting it with hiaho. " 

No other circumstances worthy of note happen- 
ed during the twenty days concluding the burial 
ceremony. On the tenth day, those who were 
not relations of the deceased, nor constituted his 
household, wore a sort of half-mourning, that is to 
say, under their mats they wore a piece of gnatoo^ 
not to be seen, but merely to be more comfortable 
to the skin than the mats, which, on these oc- 
OBidonB, are not of the finest texture. After the 
twentiedi day they wore their ordinary dress, and 
went to their proper habitations ; so did also the 
relations of the deceased ; but then these wore 
mats for about two months afterwards, though 
with gnatoo under them. 

We now come to speak of the transactions of 
the twentieth day, which concludes the whole ce- 
remony. 

Early in the morning of this day, all the rela- 
tions of the deceased chief, together with those' 
who formed his household, and also the women 
who were tabooed by having touched his dead 
body, whilst oiling and preparing it, went to the 
back of the island (without any particular order 
or ceremony) to procm*e a number of flat pebbles, 
principally white, but a few black, for which they 
made baskets on the spot to carry them in, as be- 
fore mentioned, when they went to procure sand. 
With these they retumed to the grave, and strew- 
ed the inside of the V\ousft 'wvt.Vv vW 'wlvvt^ oue«^ 
JBtnd also the outside about \)afe fytoca^ ^ ^ ^^^w^- 



THB TOirOA ISLANDS. 827 

tion to it. The black pebbles ihey strewed only 
Hpon those white ones, which covered the ground 
directly over the body, to about the length and 
kvadth of a man, in tiie form of a very eccentric 
ellqwiB. After this, the house over the^ftM^a was 
closed up at both ends with a reed fencing, readi- 
ing from the eaves to the ground, and, at the front 
aad back, with a sort of lufiket-work, made of the 
young branches of the cocoa-nut tree, split and 
interwoven in a very curious and ornamental way, 
to renaain till the next burial, when they are to be 
taken down, and, after the conclusion &f the cere- 
mony, new ones are to be put, up in like manner. 
A korge -quantity of provisions was now sent to 
the imiSi by the chiefs of the difierent distri<^ of 
the island, ready prepared and cooked ; and also 
a considerable quantity prepared by Finow's own 
household. Ammig these provisions was a good 
supply of cava root. After the chieiis, matabooles, 
and others, were all assembled, the provisions and 
cava were served out in the usual way. During 
iJiis time no speech was made, nor did any particular 
occurrence take place. The company aiterwards 
npaired eadi to his respective house, and got ready 
for a grand wrestling^match and entertainment of 
dancing the Mee Too Buggi (literally, the dance 
standing up with paddles. See second volume.) 

During the intervals of the dances, several ma- 
tabooles, warriors, and others, ran before the grave, 
bruising, and cutting tlieir heads with clubs, axes, 
&&, as proofs of t^eir fidelity to the late chief. 
Among them, two boys, one about twelve, the 
other about fourteen years of age, (sons of mata- 
books)^ made ^lemselves very conspicuous in this 

2i>^ 



328 TRAKSACTI0K8 AT 

kind of self-inflicdoii. The youngest J&vfMrticiilar^ 
whose father was killed in the seMce of Hhe late 
chief, daring the great revolntion at Tonga, after 
having giren his head two or three hard knocks, 
ran up to the grave in a fit of enthusiasm, and, 
dashing his cluh with all his force against the 
ground, exclaimed, '' Finow ! why should I at- 
tempt thus to express my love and fidelity towards 
you ? My wish is, that ^e gods of Bolotoo permit 
roe to live long enough to prove my fidelity to your 
son ! " He then again nd^ his cluh, and, runnmg 
about, hruised and cut his little head in so many 
places, that he was covered with streams of hlood. 
This demonstration on the part of the young 
hero was thought vhry highly of hy every one 
present, Chough, according to custom, nothing 
, at that time was said in his praise. Hie late 
How 8 fishermen now advanced, to show their 
love for their deceased master in the usual way ; 
though, instead of a club or axe, each bore 
the paddle of a canoe, with which he beat and 
bruised his head at intervals, making similar ex- 
clamations to those so often related. In one re- 
spect, however, they were somewhat singular ; 
that is, in having three arrows stuck through each 
cheek, in a slanting direction, so that, while their 
points came quite through the cheek into the 
mouth, the other ends went over their shoulders, 
and were kept in that situation by another aiTow, 
the point of which was tied to the ends of the ar- 
rows passing over one shoulder, and the other end 
to those of the arrows 'passing over the other 
sbouldeTy s# as to form a triangle ; and with this 
horrible equipment tYve^ ^j«2^<ft^ xwjlxA^'^. ^ec«>^^^ 
bnating their faces and \i«»As> ^ Ni^W^ ^\a.\ft.\> 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 329 

whii the paddles, or pinching up the skin of the 
breast, and sticking a spear quite through — all 
this, to prove their love and affection for the de- 
ceased chief. 

After these exhibitions of cruelty were over, 
this day's ceremony (which lasted about six hour») 
was finished by a grand wrestling-match, which be- 
ing ended, every one retired to his respective house 
or occupation ; and thus terminated the ceremony 
of burying the King of the Tonga Islands. 

Finow's character, as a politician, at least in 
point of ambition and design, may vie with that 
of any member of more civilized society. He 
wanted only education and a larger field of action, 
to make himself a thousand times more powerful 
than he was. Gifted by nature with that amasing 
grasp of mind which seises every thing within its 
reach, and then, dissatisfied with what it has ob* 
tained, is ever restless in the endeavour to ob-. 
tain more, how dull and irksome must have been 
to him the dominion of a few islands, which he 
did not dare to leave to oonquer others, lest he 
should be dispossessed of them by the treachery 
of chiefs, and the fickleness of an undisciplined' 
army ! His ever restless and ambitions spirit would 
frequently vent itself in such expressions as the* 
following. '^ Oh, that the gods would make me . 
king of England I There is not an island in the 
whole world, however small, but what I would 
tlien subject to my power. The King of England 
does not deserve the dominion he enjoys. Posses- 
sed of so many great sliips, why does he suffer 
such petty islands as those of Tonga continuallY 
to insult his people with acta oi tteajAsfcT^*^ N^^^v 
J be, woM I send tamely to osfe ioi ^^saa va^^'S^'^ ^ 



330 TRANSACTI01I9 AT 

No, I would come with ih% front efhatde; "* waA 
wiUi the thunder of Bohtane. f I would show 
who ought to -be chief. None hot mes of enter- 
prising spirit should be in possession of guns* Let 
•uch rule the earth, and be those their tbssbIs who 
can bear to submit to such insults unrerenged I '* 
With such sentiments as diese would he now and 
tfien break forth in presence of Mr Mariner, after 
eonversing on the power of the King of England. 
Hence his character, as to ambition, is drawn by 
himself with bold and decided Hnes. As to in- 
trigue and design, the reader may refer to the his- 
to^ of his conduct in the reirolution of Tonga, 
(p. 80), where he suffered Toob6 Nnba's reTenge 
to be the tool of his ambition, pretending to have^ 
no strong wish for the death of Toc^oo Ahoo ; 
hence Toob6 Nuba took upon himself the charge 
of assassination, whilst finow remained on the 
outside of the house with his men, waiting the re> 
suit. Thus, he did not draw upon himself the o* 
dium of any one, as an actual murderer of Toogoo 
Ahoo ; all which fell upon the shoulders of Too- 
bo Nuba, equally as great and brave, but a more 
honest and a worthier man. For a more striking 
instance, look to his deep design in the history of 
the assassination of his brother Toob6 Nuba, who 
had been his own ally, and was then his most 
fiuthfnl serrant (see p. 126). Here ajoc^in he made 
use of another man^s revenge to effect his pur- 
pose ; and mark the admirable caution with which 

* Mooa towt which literally means the front or fore-part 
of battle, is a very usual expression among tliem. 

f The expression they use for the noise of guns ; the 
word Britain they canivol pxoivwxTvt^ vcv vccj c2^Scv«t ^wj 
t&ui Boiotane. 



TH« TONGA ISLANDS; 33l 

he steps in this affair tbroughont. He acknow- 
ledges that he promised Tooho Toa liis assistance ; 
but then states, as his reaHon, that he did it with 
the view of putting off Tooho Toa's intention for 
a time, under the false pretence, he says, that it - 
was not yet a fit oppoitunity ; but in reality, cls 
he tells the Vavaoo people^ that lie might fimi an 
occasion to pievent the mischief altogeth^. But 
who can doubt, after having observed closely the 
features of that transaction, but that Finow meant 
to biing about the murder of Toobo Nuba that 
very night, else why did he tell Mr Marmer not 
to bring his whaling knife with him ? Was it not 
that he wished to be Huarmed, that he might not 
have an opportunity of defending Toobo Npha ? 
Again, he did not, before he set out from his house^ 
send for Toobo Nuha to accompany liim ; but 
when he had got half way on his road, he stopped 
to bathe, and in Uie mean while, as if it were a 
second and a casual thought, he sent for his vic- 
tim to accompany him to ^ the old chiefs house, 
where they remained above two hours. Toobo Toa 
was not present, and Toob6T6a'B men were getUng 
ready a canoe for him to escape, in rase he were 
unsuccessful. When the first blow was given, Finow 
could not defend Toobo Nuha, because he was 
purposely unarmed, and because Toob6 Tea's men 
held him, which they would not have dared to 
do had they not been so ordered by their chief. 
Need any more be said to show his policy ?— ' 
Once more notice him, when he wishes to make a 
peace with the Vavaoo people, after he had kept 
up for some time a fruitless contest (p. 192). To 
have expressed this wbhmV^^tXx^N^ va^^^Ckfe^^**^^ 
in the opinion of h» eBeinm. \^>ftaX ^^^*» ^^ "^^ 



3S2 TRANSACTIOirS AT 

this case ? He takes frequent opportunity to cen- 
yerse with the priests. He does not tell them 
that he wishes for peace, but he obserres that 
peace would be much more advantageous for hk 
subjects ; lamenting, at the same time, that the 
disobedience of the Vavaoo people obliges him ta 
have recourse to warlike measures. The minds 
of the priests, however, becoming strongly im- 
pressed with the advantages of peace, wbsn in- 
spired they advise him to make a peace. He, pre- 
tending to do as the gods admonish, yie\dB to 
the solicitation, and permits his priests to make 
overtures, as if this step was originally designed 
by them, or rather by the gods, and lliBt he con- 
sented merely bacanse it was a point of rehgir 
ous duty. Thus we find him an admirable p<^- 
tidan, al^ough the picture is occasionally nmrk- 
ed with traits which do no honour to his cha- 
racter as a man. Farther instances of this kind 
may be noticed, such as his cruelty towards his 
conquered enemies, by starving his prisoners ta 
death in the shocking manner related p. 85, for 
which he could have no excuse, unless to deter 
others from rebellion. As to his seizing several 
of the Vavaoo chiefs at a cava ring, p. 232, and 
CHrdering them to be killed, it may perhaps be that 
they were meditating an insurrection, as he was 
informed ; hence such strong measures became al- 
most necessary in a state of society like that. * 
But it would be rather severe to consider cruelty 

* It is very far from my wish to extenuate Finow's con- 
duct ; on the other hand, I should be sorry to represent 
bim a worse man ^au \v« Teally was. Ht^ character, na 
doubt, was a very ex.tiaiQic^Tvvr3 ^xi^\ ^w^Wan^ «.adea- 
voured to weigjki du\y, mv^ yiVOcvo>aX. \i«55k>3^\t'6^ «:^w^Qii- 
cuoutaace that roig^t texuai Xo VJmwi %.>^^V\>:^V>&« 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. SSS 

•80 great a crime among these people as it would 
be among as. The evil to society may be pec* 
haps quite as great, but the demerit certainly fiedls 
not so heavy upon the perpetrator, nor does the 
victim, in all probability, feel it so much. To re- 
turn to the subject, Finow was by no means des- 
titute of the spark of humanity. It was remark- 
able in him, that, although he was rather arbitrary, 
he hated to see oppression in others, and would 
frequently take the part of the oppressed, against 
those i^o were punishing them harshly ; and this 
Mr Mariner is confident did not aiise from ca- 
price, nor from pride, as wiUing to make himself 
the only person to be feared, but from far better 
motives. As a proof of his sentiments in this re- 
spect, the following anecdote is worthy 4»f notice. 
When Mr Mariner was first able to explain him- 
self in their language, young chiefis and warriors 
would frequently flock about him (particularly 
those who were active in taldng the Port au Prince), 
and question him upon the use of various things 
they had seen on board that vessel ; and then they 
would describe the difficulty Uiey had in killing 
some of the men, mentioning, at the same time, 
who killed such a one, and who kille<l another, 
and expressed, by their actions, how much such a 
man was convulsed when he died, and how deep- 
ly he groaned. Whilst talking upon such subjects, 
Finow passing that way, and overiiearing the dis- 
course, would command tiiem not to talk upon a 
matter which must be so disagreeable to Mr Ma- 
riners feelings; that the fiUe of his companions 
was too serious a subject to be thus li^htl^ o^nk&n^ 
of. To which some of tYie* cVj^rSr xcs^^n "^ "^ 
he does not make that a wiVyfccX. vA wi\ssv^^^«^'' 



£kS! 



S34 TRANSACTIONS AT 

for iioiu* of tliem were his relations." — ^^ Though 
none perhaps were his relations," rejoined Finow, 
'* they- were nevertheless his countrymen." As 
another example to throw into the scale m favour 
of Finow*8 humanity and discriminative jusftice, we 
may quote the instance of pardon granted to the 
two hoys of the Port an Prince, who, notwith- 
standing they were guilty of theft and sacrilege, 
were excused on account of their supposed igno- 
rance of the extent of their crime ; whilst a native 
would have been executed upon die spot. (See 
note, p. 150). His conduct towards Mr Mariner 
must also be noticed at the time when the Hope, 
Captain Chace, arrived at Vavaoo. (See p. 253) 
It should here moreover be observed, that Finow's 
temper was uncommonly irritable ; when once ex- 
cited into anger, his rage was terrible. This he 
acknowledged himself, and would frequently say 
that his quick temper was the infliction sent him 
from Bolotoo ; '^ and, in some measure to obviate 
its ill effects, he frequently charged his matabooles 
to hold him, whenever they saw him getting vio- 
lently angry I This they always did ; and in about 
ten minutes or a quarter of an hour he would be- 
come quite calm, and thank them for their inter- 
ference. This admimble conduct is, no doubt, a 
beautiful trait in the character of a savage ; and 
there is, perhaps, at this time, many a man living 

* They believe that every man has some deep-seated 
evil, either in his mei)tal or bodily coustitation, si>nt him 
by the gods; but for which they assign no oUier reason than 
the delight Uiey take in punishing mankind. This last opi- 
nion is, however, by no means universal, the generality of 
the natives do not pTeWivd to assign any reason ; and, upon 
mature considcratioiv, '^ilT "Nl«rvti«t x-e* twxsVcvtvi^i Uiat the 
Juaii^naiicy of the j^ods \* xvot^To^v^ $knt\xv5\R^ <e«K^N. 
*s far as regards th« Rovooi^ Yo^\v«c^vei\^\«^«j^J«k«i^'v. 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 335 

at the Tonga Islands who owes his present exist- 
ence to this circumstance, whose head would 
undouhtedly have been clea7ed long ago, but for 
this laudable artifice on the part of their chief. 
Nor was he on all occasions unable to master his 
temper without these secondary means ; for if we 
observe him when he approached the shores of 
Yavaoo, to address the people with the view of 
persuading them to amicable measures, we shall 
see that all the scoffs and insults of his enemies 
did not in the least ruffle his temper, conti'ary to 
the expectation of his friends. But, however, his 
temper was no doubt very irritable ; and with such 
a temper, and in such a state of society, it is not 
to be wondered at that he should occasionally be 
very harsh in his measures towards those who re- 
belled against faim. 

As to his moral character in general, not much 
can be said in his favour. He was suspected of 
harbouring revengeful designs against individuals 
for years, and would wreak his vengeance at a fit 
opportunity, as if from a momentary impulse of 
passion, when nobody was near to restrain him. 
His revenge in this way was sometimes wreaked 
upon chiefs, who, as he imagined, did not pay him 
so much tribute as their plantations- coidd have 
afforded — at least such was supposed to be his 
motive, by those who knew him best. 

Tn describing the character of an extraordinary 
man, the picture is imfinished unless we fuinish 
also a portraiture of his person, and of his personal 
manners ; * otherwise the imagination of the reader 
is sure to describe for itself a bod^^ ^a^^scJcs^aar 

♦ See Note p. V5Bo. 
VOL, I. ^ B 



3B6 TftAVSACtlONS AT 

turn on which all these mental qnalificatioilB are 
saperindnced ; and hence incongroities are mingled 
together ; the harmony of the picture weakened, 
if not quite destroyed ; and an imperfect arti6cial 
construction suhstituted for a perfect natural 
production. To give an example of the propriety, 
if not the necessity of this,*— -one might imagine, 
from the character ahove giren of Finow, that he 
was of a very vindictive and cruel disposition, 
because we have given a few instances in confir- 
mation of it: one # might believe him, therefore, 
to have a countenance harsh and severe, a lower- 
ing, sullen brow, a haughty deportment, Sec. But 
nothing can be more remote from his true personal 
character ; — and we are surprised to hear that his 
countenance was indeed enei^tic, yet mild ; his 
brow prominent and bold, without suUenness ; his 
deportment manly and erect, without pride. WM' 
out the knowledge of these facts, we suppose him 
to have been cruel and malevolent ; with the know- 
ledge of them, we rather suppose him to have 
been severe ; but that his severity, where it dege- 
nerated into harshness, was occasioned sometimes 
by hastiness of temper, sometimes by miscon- 
ception of the crime which he punished ; at other 
times, (and, perhaps, partly at all times), by the 
habits of the society in which he lived, these ha- 
bits occasioning him to view acts of real cruelty 
in a light ^ less atrocious than we should. If, on 
the other hand, we were to find that his counte- 
nance spoke the same harsh language which his ac- 
tions appeared to speak, we might, without much 

fear of error, Bel Yum ^o^vw ^ \}^\n!^ often capable 

of malignant and ik^ocA.o\&& ^\qtl^.^ 

• That ^hich appcaw \o \ie ^3afc n«otA olVa> %s.'^w»> ^ 



THB TONGA ISLANDS. S37 

^ Finow, the sole and arbitrary monarch of Va- 
vaoo, and the Hapai Islands, was in stature six 
feet two inches ; in bulk and strength, Rtout and 
muscular ; his head erect and bold ; his shoulders 
broad and well made ; his limbs well set, strong, 
and graceful in action; his body not corpulent, but 
muscular ; his hair of a jet black, and cmly, yet 
agreeably so, without being woolly ; his forehead 
remarkably high ; his brow bold and intelligent, 
with a little austerity ; his eye large and penetra- 
ting, yet joined to an expression of mildness ; his 
nose aquiline and large ; bis lips well made and 
expressive ; his teeth remarkably large, whit«, and 
regular ; his lower jaw rather prominent ; his cheek 
bones also rather prominent, compared with those 
of Europeans. — All his features were well develop- 
ed, and declared a strong and energetic mind, with 
that sort of intellectual expression which belongs 
not so much to the sage as to the warlike chief- 
tain. Ambition sat high on his front, and guided all 
his energies. His deep and penetrating eye, and 
his firm and masculine deportment, while they in- 
8pii*ed his adherents with confidence, struck awe 
to the minds of conspirators. His actions were, for 
the most part, steady and determined, and directed 
to some well studied purpose. His resolve was fate, 
and those who obeyed him with reluctance trem- 
bled, not without reason. He appeared almost 
constantly, in deep thouglit, and did not often 
smile. When he spoke in matters of some impor- 

leost the most inbuman, viz. the assassination of his bro- 
ther Toobo Nuha, was always an inexplicable puzzle to 
those who naight be conftideTcd \^a.'^x^^v\ % >b>3X ^'"js^ "sJi^ 
seemed perfcctiy convinced \]bat Vi^ vjom\^ Xk»\.V^^^<^'^'^"^ 
without some strong rcatiOii, 




338 TRANSACTIONfe AT 

taacej it was not without first holding up the ba- 
lance in his mind, to weigh well what he had tc 
say* Persuasion hung upon his lip ; and the flowoi 
his eloquence was such, that many of his enemies 
were afraid to listen to him, lest they should he 
led to view the subject in a light prejudicial to 
their interests. 

Although, in matters of consequence, he always 
seemed to weigh well what he had to say, in sub- 
jects of minor importance he was very quick in re- 
ply. His voice was loud, not harsh hut mellow, 
and his pronunciation remarkably distinct. When 
he laughed, which was not on trifling occasions, it 
was so loud as to be heard at an incredible dis- 
tance ; and with a very strange noise preceding it, 
as if he were hallooing after somebody a long way 
off, and the same kind of noise he afways made 
when in a passion : and this was peculiar to him. 
When in his house, however, giving orders about 
his domestic arrangements, his voice was uncom- 
monly mild, and very low. 

In regard to liis sentiments of religion and po- 
licy, they may be pretty well gathered from sun- 
dry passages in the narrative. As to his religion, 
it is difficult to say whether he had any. It is cer- 
tain that he disbelieved most of the oracles deli" 
vered by the priests ; for althougli he conceived 
that they were really inspired, wlten they a]>peared 
to be so, he thought a great deal of what tliey 
affirmed to be the sentiments of the gods was their 
own invention, and this particularly in regard to 
what did not suit his own sentiments. He never, 
iiowever, declared h\a oi^mion of these things in 
public ; though be ex\>Te^^e^\\\'£«v>N'iT^ ^^^vS^^-^ 
to Mr MarineT) and some o^\x^ \sv>j«xv^\ft. \\\KaS 



THE TONGA ISLANDS. 3S0 

He used to say that the gods would always farour 
that party in war, in which there were the great* 
est chiefs and warriors. He did not helieve that 
the gods paid much attention in other 'respects to 
the stairs of mankind ; nor did he think they could 
have any reason for doing so, — no more than man 
could have any reason or interest in attending to 
the affairs of the gods. He helieved in the doc- 
trine of a future state, agreeably to the notions en* 
tertained by his countrymen ; namely, that chiefs 
and matabooles, having souls, exist hereafter in 
Bolotoo, according to their rank in this world ; 
but that the common people, having no souls, or 
those only that die with their bodies, are without 
any hope of a future existence. 

Such was the character of the late How of the 
Tonga Iskaids,-'-^ character not without a consid- 
erable share of merit ; in some respects not un- 
worthy imitation, and in every respect highly in- 
teresting. We have pomlrayed it at some length, 
because such characters do not often come under 
our observation ; and it is proper that we should 
know what men are and may be in a savage state, 
if we wish to judge with tolerable accuracy of the 
human character in a civilized state, that, by com- 
parison of the two together, we may arrive at a 
better knowledge of, himian nature in the abstract ; — 
a sdence of all sciences the most truly interesting; 
a science to which all others are but auxiliary ; and 
without which all others would be but vain subtle- 
ties, fatiguing in the pursuit, and unsatisfactory in 
the possession. 

We come now to view the island of Vavaoo 
under the domimoa oi «k xckwa. ^^ ^-^vsr^ ^iSsscce^ 

turn of mind ; ol <mfe *\iOWft Vsitf^'w^ 



if^crior kind ; and wIks nulika liw kte hlim»im 
▼Did of iBordirate political ainbitioa» aad aeoigb 
tha.bap^iiieaa of Us peo|ple> not the ^xtemivn of 
Us 0W1I powte— aa admua' of tli&.'liftak a pbSioMH 
jibar araong saTages 1 But to sluqnir be^er the con- 
Iraat betireen the two, we need only mentioni that» 
mhok the late king * was not at hw honae, and it 
9nia,neoe8iary to seek for liim» he was genera)lsrte 
be found at some pobEc place, at some other ducTa 
ho«9e> or. at the maldL If the present king was 
wanfi^ he waa to be found at the honaea of car* 
pentersy or canoe-biulderiy or eke vcp in the conn- 
try, im^ec^ng acune ground to be cultivated, . . 

* M A cbancter Eke Finow's (the elder) would have veil 
■dlid tilt Greek dnmuu Hie great masten of thst dnom 
voold have'dCeshM twiMllvjdHpeafitiian age t o ba Iboiid 
UktiMi iHiloiy of this Temarkaft>le rxaixi i ISa MlRiULlun ai» 
lihion, ttsd his natmal affecdoiis— his cootempt for the fit- 
bles aod ceremonies of his country, when in prosperity — 
his patient submitsion to them, when in distress — his strong 
intidlect»— his efil deedi— -and the death which was believed 
to be inflicted on him in Tengeance, by the oyerruUng di- 
vinities whom he defied. "'^Quarterly Review* 



END OF VOLUME FIRST. 



TKOnEH BT J. BUTCBI80K, 
roa THE HUES OP 1>. WILLISOK.